Tenth Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Forum in Asia

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Chair’s Summary Tenth Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Forum in Asia

2030 Road Map for Sustainable Transport ~ Aligning with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

14-16 March 2017 Venue: Don Chan Palace Hotel & Convention, Vientiane, Lao PDR

Forum Chair H.E. Dr. Bounchanh Sinthavong, Minister of the Public Works and Transport, Lao People's Democratic Republic

I. Introduction

1. The Intergovernmental Tenth Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Forum in Asia co- organized by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) of the Government of Lao PDR, the Ministry of the Environment of the Government of Japan (MOE-Japan), the Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), the United Nations Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD) and the United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), from 14 to 16 March 2017 in Vientiane, Lao PDR, with the theme of “2030 Road Map for Sustainable Transport ~ Aligning with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.

2. The Forum was officially inaugurated by H.E Mr. Somdy Douangdy, Deputy Prime Minister of the Lao PDR, and chaired by H.E. Dr. Bounchanh Sinthavong, Minister of Public Works and Transport, Lao PDR. The Forum was attended by over three hundred participants comprised of national and city government representatives from thirty-eight countries (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, People's Republic of China (hereinafter, China), Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Kiribati, Republic of Korea (hereinafter, Korea), Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Russian Federation, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor- Leste, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe), subsidiary Expert Group Members of the Regional EST Forum in Asia, international resource persons, representatives from various United Nations and international organisations, multilateral development banks, scientific and research organisations, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), local observers and professionals from the transport and development sector in Lao People's Democratic Republic. As a whole, the participants attending the Forum were from forty-eight countries, which include twenty-five regular member countries1 of the Regional EST Forum in Asia.

1 Regular member countries of the Regional EST Forum in Asia includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, People's Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Republic of Korea, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russian Federation, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam. 1

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3. As an integral part of the Tenth Regional EST Forum in Asia, the following three events were organized: (a) Pre-event on Contribution of Rural Transport to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, 13 March 2017; (b) The Regional Seminar on Sustainable and Inclusive Transport Development- Fostering Rural Transport Connectivity to help achieve SDGs, 14-16 March 2017; and (c) Vientiane International Mayors Forum, 15 March 2017. Further, the outcome of the Global Sustainable Transport Conference 2016 (Ashgabat, Turkmenistan) was jointly introduced by the Representative of the Government of Turkmenistan and Ms. Birgitte Bryld, Senior Economic Affairs Officer, Division for Sustainable Development, UN DESA. An update on the outcome of the 2016 Ministerial Conference on Transport (Moscow, Russian Federation) was provided by UN ESCAP along with the Regional Strategy and Policy Framework to Improve Rural Transport Connectivity to Wider Local, National and Regional Transport Networks.

4. The Forum was supported by a number of national and international organisations and donor agencies, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Department for International Development (DFID), EMBARQ (The World Resources Institute’s Center for Sustainable Transport), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), German International Cooperation (GIZ), ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, International Road Transport Union (IRU), Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), International Union of Railways (UIC), Research for Community Access Partnership (ReCAP), SAFER-Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre, University of Gothenburg, United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Victoria Transport Policy Institute (VTPI), World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Bank (WB).

5. Asia, being the most populated (with 4.4 billion people) and fastest growing and urbanising region in the world, will require a massive transformation in its transport sector in order to remain on the path of resilience, economic prosperity and sustainability. Although development in Asia has achieved spectacular progress on many fronts in the last decade in implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Asian countries and cities are facing several social, economic and environmental challenges due to unplanned urbanization and inadequate provision of infrastructure and basic services both in urban and rural areas. Increased rates of traffic accidents, congestion and pollution have been critical impeding factors hampering social well-being and economic prosperity in Asia, though member countries of Regional EST Forum in Asia have adopted the Bali Declaration on Vision Three Zeros – Zero Accidents, Zero Congestion, and Zero Pollution (2013). At the same time, lack of accessibility has been one of the critical challenges to uplift the rural economy and social well-being. Though rural connectivity is an important driver for rural development as well as resilience and empowerment of rural communities, dedicated investments for rural transport remains a critical challenge for many developing countries of the region. This has ultimately hampered efforts towards poverty eradication, hunger elimination, wider regional economic integration and sustainable regional development. Lack of efficient supply chain logistics and freight transport connectivity in rural areas and between rural and urban areas has adversely affected the farming community and their livelihood security. Crop wastages between farms and the consumers remains a critical challenge in achieving SDG 2 that calls to end hunger and achieve food security.

6. The Heads of State and Government and High Level Representatives of 193 Member States of the United Nations adopted the post-2015 development agenda – Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 related targets at

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING its core, at the UN Sustainable Development Summit held in New York from 25 to 27 September 2015. The Agenda, which represents a plan of action for people, planet, and prosperity, reflects the commitment of the countries to shift the world on to a sustainable and resilient path. Through the adoption of the Agenda, the member states have significantly reinforced the vital role of sustainable transport in achieving the SDGs.

7. At the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris in 2015, Parties to the UNFCCC reached a landmark agreement, the Paris Agreement, to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future, and to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping the average global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The Agreement calls for ambitious goals to set up appropriate financial flows, a new technology framework and an enhanced capacity building framework to support actions taken by countries based on their own national objectives (also known as Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs).

8. In the Third International Conference on Financing for Development held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 13 to 16 July 2015, member countries agreed that “current policy, finance and investment patterns are not delivering the future we want”. Therefore it is important to continue “strengthening official finance, and unlocking the transformative potential of people and the private sector while ensuring that investment patterns support sustainable development, and strengthen national and international policy environments.” Recognizing the importance of resilient cities and transport infrastructure, the conference further called for a new initiative to ensure sufficient investment in sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including transport, communication, water, sanitation and energy, in all countries”, and urged the international community “to increase its support to projects that foster regional integration, in collaboration with regional and multilateral development banks and other stakeholders.”

9. The New Urban Agenda (NUA) adopted at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), which took place in October 2016 in Quito, Ecuador, provides a new framework that lays out how cities should be planned and managed to best promote sustainable urban development. The NUA outlines the emerging challenges and opportunities as urban population is expected to nearly double by 2050. The Agenda, reinforcing the key principles of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, presents a set of transformative commitments under three overarching themes: 1) Sustainable Urban Development for Social Inclusion and Ending Poverty; 2) Sustainable and Inclusive Urban Prosperity and Opportunities for All; and 3) Environmentally Sustainable and Resilient Urban development.

10. International, national and local level actions to achieve the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Climate Agreement, the Habitat III New Urban Agenda, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Global Decade of Action on Road Safety, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and the Nairobi Mandate are complementary to each other. While all of these global agendas and agreements are intrinsically linked, they also provide a vast opportunity for national and local government to capitalize on synergies in their efforts to achieve these goals and agendas. In this regard, the countries could align their transport policies, planning, financing decisions and development programmes with this objective. Given the current transport trends and developments in EST countries and that sustainable transport provides a common thread to these international agendas

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING and agreements, they aggregately provide a potential framework and common ground to Asian countries and cities for moving forward to 2030.

11. As an expression of interest and commitment to promote inclusive, affordable, accessible, safe, low- carbon, and sustainable rural transport infrastructure and services, the participating countries voluntarily adopted the Vientiane Declaration on Sustainable Rural Transport towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

II. Contribution of Rural Transport to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

12. A pre-event to the 10th EST Forum entitled “Contribution of Rural Transport to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” was co-organized by the Lao PDR Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT), the Research for Community Access Partnership (ReCAP), the United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia- Pacific (UN ESCAP) and facilitated by the Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT Partnership) on 13 March 2017. The pre-event was attended by more than 100 participants from more than 30 different countries, representing transport ministries, development agencies, UN organisations, civil society, academia, and the private sector. The pre-event provided an inclusive and interactive platform for policy-makers and relevant stakeholders in the EST region to exchange information and knowledge on the role of rural transport in realising the SDGs under the 2030 Agenda. The event also raised awareness on the role of rural transport research in achieving key development goals.

13. A keynote speech by the Vice Minister of Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Lao PDR, H.E. Viengsavath Siphandone, emphasized the unique position of rural transport in the 2030 Agenda and explained how rural transport development in Lao PDR can contribute directly and indirectly to a number of SDGs, including SDG 1 to alleviate poverty; SDG 2 to achieve zero hunger and ensure food security; SDG 3 to ensure health and well-being; SDG 4 to provide access to education; SDG 5 to empower women in rural areas; SDG 6 to facilitate access to clean water and sanitation; SDG 8 to promote inclusive growth and economic opportunities; SDG 9 and SDG 11 to contribute to sustainable infrastructure and communities for all; and SDG 13 to increase climate resilience and adaptation in rural areas in the country. Representatives from UNCRD and UN ESCAP highlighted the key role of the EST Forum in improving planning and decision-making in the rural transport sector to improve access and provide regional connectivity in the Asia Pacific region. Representatives from ReCAP also highlighted the important role of research uptake and embedding in implementing rural transport solutions, and the necessity to include whole-life costing in assessments of rural transport projects and programmes.

14. A series of presentations illustrated various challenges of rural transport, including the “first-mile problem,” gender mainstreaming, and financing rural transport services. During a panel discussion on climate adaptation of rural transport infrastructure, speakers and participants compared experiences on policy measures to increase resilience, reduce vulnerability, and improve risk and disaster management. The final plenary session covered topics including how to increase sustainability of rural road networks through engaging local communities in rural road maintenance and effective asset management of rural roads.

15. The pre-event closed with an interactive session in which participants suggested key themes on rural transport to be included in a list of recommendations for policy-makers in the EST region. Participant suggestions spanned more than 20 topics relevant to rural transport, such as maintenance, safety, gender, 4

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING technology, knowledge uptake and embedding, and private sector empowerment. The pre-event provided an inclusive platform for policy-makers and stakeholders to share lessons learned and to formulate policy recommendations on scaling up rural transport development in the context of SDG implementation.

III. Opening Session of 10th Regional EST Forum in Asia

16. H.E. Mr. Keophilavanh Aphaylath, Vice Mayor of Vientiane Capital City, welcomed the participants of the Tenth Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport Forum in Asia. He expressed his sincere appreciation to UNCRD, UNESCAP and other international organisations for choosing Vientiane as the venue for the Tenth EST Forum. Vientiane Capital City is the largest city in Laos, with the total area of 3.920 square kilometres, and with a total population of 740, 000. Vientiane has emerged as an influential city in South East Asia with increasing foreign investments from neighbouring countries. However, Vientiane is faced with rapid motorization. This has brought new challenges to the city such as influx of cars and motorbikes leads to congestion, air pollution, traffic accidents, and illegal parking encroachment. Vientiane has a plan to improve non-motorised transport and public transit within the city, which will encourage city people to use sustainable modes of transportation. He finally expressed hope that the Tenth Forum would not only create valuable opportunity to share among the world cities valuable lessons and technical knowhow in the areas of sustainable urban transport, but would also serve as a platform for sharing and strengthening international environmental cooperation among Asian countries and beyond.

17. In her opening statement, Ms. Chikako Takase, Director of United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), highlighted that this Forum is very special by marking the tenth anniversary. She described how it grew from a 14 country gathering to an annual Forum with 25 member countries. Yet, she noted that the EST Forum addressed the sustainability issues surrounding the transport sector from the very beginning as reflected in Aichi Statement. She explained that the Bangkok 2020 Declaration adopted in 2010 was one of the first regional efforts to address a number of goals around the Avoid-Shift-Improve approach. She also pointed out that a wealth of knowledge in various aspects of sustainable transport was created by these Forums. Observing the global scene on development, she noted that this Tenth Forum also takes place at very important moment. One full year has passed since the commencement of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Habitat III took place in October 2016 in Quito, Ecuador and adopted the New Urban Agenda. In addition, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change that was adopted in COP 21 in 2015 entered into force in November 2016. Building onto this concrete and steady progress on global processes, she hoped that this EST Forum would draw the 2030 Road Map for Sustainable Development, aligning EST programme with sustainable development goals. She noted that sustainable rural transport is highlighted in this EST Forum, starting from the pre-event on the subject. In this regard, she hoped that the Vientiane Declaration on Sustainable Rural Transport towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development would be adopted at the end of the Forum. In addition, she noted that the Vientiane International Mayors Forum is taking place as an integral part of the Tenth Regional EST Forum in Asia, and the Addendum to the Kyoto Declaration on EST is expected to be signed by many Mayors attending the EST Forum.

18. As a co-organizer of the Forum, the representative of UNESCAP, Mr. Madan B. Regmi, welcomed the participants and expressed his pleasure at continued collaboration with UNCRD in organizing the EST Forum and the Regional Seminar on Sustainable and Inclusive Transport Development- Fostering Rural Transport Connectivity. He mentioned that many SDGs and targets are directly and indirectly relevant 5

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING for transport. Rural connectivity, sustainable urban transport and road safety were common priority themes being discussed in the Forum and included in the Regional Action Programme (2017-2021) adopted by the Ministerial Conference on Transport held in Moscow in December 2016. Outlining the challenges of making transport system more sustainable, he mentioned that many Governments of the region were already taking various initiatives to enhance sustainability of transportation systems. However, he stressed the further need to streamline transport policies towards achievement of the SDGs as well as regional commitments. Much focus was needed to: integrate land use and transport planning; improve public transport systems and services; improve road safety, ensure maintenance of transport infrastructure, use of information communication technology and intelligent transport systems, prioritize investments, and improve the rural and last mile connectivity. UNESCAP would continue to advocate sustainable transport policies and extend support to countries in their endeavors and sought to build new partnerships in their pursuit towards achievements of SDGs.

19. Delivering the opening statement, Mr. Jong Soo Yoon, Head of the United Nations Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD), thanked the host Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and all partners of the Tenth Regional EST Forum in Asia. While the previous approaches to sustainable development had not been completely successful in recognizing and understanding the close interrelationships among different sustainable development issues, the SDGs have been rather developed like a network, where those linkages are not only acknowledged but also strengthened through the SDGs’ individual targets, serving multiple goals at a time. Accordingly, the SDGs are expected to perform as one system, where the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 Targets are integrated and indivisible, and balance economic development, social development and environmental protection. Transport is, with no doubt, closely linked to the different development needs and stages of countries. It is thus no coincidence that vehicle fleets are doubling every five years or so in Asia. But questions remain open concerning the development of the transportation sector in Asia, which is accompanied by a growing demand for energy (2.7% annually), and increases in traffic congestion, accidents and fatalities not to mention air pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In order to have positive impact towards achieving the SDGs, the development of transportation systems should take into account the mobility needs of the poorest and most vulnerable segments of the population and their living conditions, and their vulnerability and exposure to the adverse impacts of climate change and natural disasters. Mr. Jong Soo Yoon finally expressed his satisfaction on the theme of the Tenth Forum that aimed to connect the EST dots with the SDGs, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the New Urban Agenda. Underscoring the importance of rural-urban connectivity, he welcomed the participants to the Vientiane International Mayors Forum, which was subsequently organized as an integral part of the Tenth EST Forum.

20. Appreciating the efforts of UNCRD in organizing the Regional EST Forum in Asia since its inception, Mr. Hiroaki Takiguchi, Director, Ministry of the Environment of Japan, expressed his deep appreciation to the Government of Lao People’s Democratic Republic for hosting the Tenth Forum and other co- organizers and partners in supporting the Forum. Noting the growing cooperation and friendship between Lao PDR and Japan, he noted that the Regional EST Forum in Asia had been steadily gaining international recognition since the first Forum in Aichi in 2005. While the number of participating countries has increased three fold, the number of international organisations is also demonstrating strong interest in the objectives of the Forum. The motorization has progressed as a result of rapid economic growth and urbanization in Asia. This has resulted in a number of local issues such as air pollution, traffic congestion, and traffic accidents, as well as global issues like global warming. As to climate change, the Paris Agreement, an equitable and effective framework with all countries’ participation was adopted at COP21 and entered into force in 2016. Under these circumstances, the significance of

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING realising EST and the Bangkok 2020 Declaration (2010-2020) is well recognized and enhanced. He noted the importance of linkage with EST in rural area as well as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs, and expressed his hope that the Tenth Forum in Lao PDR would actively address these areas. Japan had faced various issues such as serious environmental pollution and large- scale natural disasters in past. The Japanese experience, knowledge and environmental technologies that have been accumulated over the years would certainly be valuable learning experience for the Asian countries and cities. He expressed Japan’s continued contribution to the Regional EST Forum in Asia.

21. Delivering the opening address, H.E. Dr. Bounchanh Sinthavong, Minister of Public Works and Transport, Lao PDR, shared various sustainable transport policies and programmes that Lao PDR has been implementing over the years. Lao PDR is the only land-locked country in the ASEAN region. The Lao PDR Government has a policy to move from a “land-locked” to “land-linked” country. Sub-regional and regional connectivity and integration has been one of the top priorities of the Government. With the limited funding, Lao PDR is putting its best possible efforts to develop and improve most of the regional transport infrastructures in the country. Currently Lao PDR focuses on a number of initiatives and activities such as – a) maintain a balance between the construction of new roads and the maintenance of existing ones; b) encourage the participation of private sector through public-private-partnerships (PPPs) in developing the logistics and transport infrastructure; c) upgrade of prioritised ASEAN Highways in the country to at least Class III of ASEAN standards; d) integrate disaster resilience into the construction of new infrastructure taking into account the global warming and climate change; e) implement measures to cope with the rapidly increase of vehicles and traffic congestions in the big cities especially in the capital city of Vientiane; and f) achieve smooth, safe and efficient connectivity between rural and urban areas.

22. H.E. Dr. Bounchanh Sinthavong further elaborated that Lao PDR has participated in the UNCRD’s Initiative on Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) and joined the Regional EST Forum in Asia from the beginning. Until now, the Ministry has completed a number of significant studies, namely the Vientiane Urban Transport Master Plan in 2008, and the Study on Low Carbon Transport System in Lao PDR in 2012. A study on Green Freight Transport is currently on-going. Most importantly, last month the Government of Lao PDR has approved in principle an EST Strategy and Action Plan, which is expected to be officially endorsed in the near future. During the 2016 ASEAN Summit, hosted by Lao PDR as the current Chair of ASEAN, the Prime Minister of Lao PDR, H.E. Mr. Thongloun Sisoulith had handed over the Lao PDR Paris Agreement ratification instrument to the UN Secretary General with the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions being implemented with the assistance of a new project funded by the Global Environment Facility in partnership with UNDP and the Department of Disaster Management and Climate Change. Lao PDR is also implementing a number of EST projects such as the new bus system for improving Vientiane bus service and piloting the electric vehicle (EV) bus for urban transport service in Luang Prabang and Champasack provinces. Recently, Lao PDR has successfully secured almost 100 million US dollars co- financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), OPEC Fund for International Development, European Investment Bank (EIB), European Union, Global Environmental Facility, the private sector and the government of Lao PDR for implementing the Vientiane Sustainable Urban Transport Project. The Project is expected to improve urban transport operations and capacity in Vientiane with five major components, namely Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Parking Facilities, Non-Motorised Transit, Traffic Management and Urban Transport Management Agency.

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING 23. Delivering the keynote address, Mr. Bambang Susantono, Vice President of Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development of Asian Development Bank, expressed his appreciation to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport of Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, the United Nations Centre for Regional Development, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, and the United Nations Office for Sustainable Development, for organizing the Tenth Regional EST Forum in Asia with the theme of “2030 Road Map for Sustainable Transport: Aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals”. Asia is the world’s most populated and fastest-growing continent, with more than 4.4 billion people equivalent to 60% of the total world population. Its growth and transformation into a global economic powerhouse has been the greatest success story of recent times. Within this century, Asia will become home to the majority of the world’s middle class, the largest producer of goods and services, and at the same time the largest consumer market. While improvements in transport infrastructure reduce the costs of transportation and improve its quality, making goods and services more competitive, and stimulating growth in trade, improving transport connectivity spreads economic opportunities more widely, opening up areas previously disadvantaged because of geography, which makes economic growth more inclusive. Considering Asia’s enormous growth in both passenger and freight transport demand, the region would experience the largest infrastructure investment. According to ADB’s recent published report on Meeting Asia’s Infrastructure Needs, developing Asia will need to invest $1.7 trillion in infrastructure each year until 2030 in order to maintain its growth momentum, tackle poverty, and respond to climate change, and within this amount, total annual investment required in transport will be nearly $600 billion. At the same time, Asian economies lose between 2 and 5% of their GDP each year due to road congestion and the region’s cities suffer from the highest pollution levels in the world, with the total contribution of transport to air pollution varying from 12% to 70% according to the World Health Organization. Together with rapid urbanization, there is a trend of rising inequality in many countries, and climate change will bring major new mitigation and adaptation challenges.

24. Mr. Bambang Susantono further noted that among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 related targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the targets for transport cover access for all (including in rural and urban areas), road safety, energy efficiency, reducing air pollution, environmental impacts and greenhouse gas emissions, and improving the quality, resilience and longevity of transport infrastructure and services. The Bangkok 2020 Declaration on EST, based on the Avoid–Shift–Improve paradigm, is an important step in these global processes, including the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the Habitat III New Urban Agenda, because it defined strategies for achieving transport sustainability. It is the right time for the Regional EST Forum in Asia to now take stock of progress in implementing the Bangkok 2020 Declaration. This can provide countries with useful lessons and insights to factor into implementation of the new global targets for sustainable transport. Regional forums can play a valuable role, both by bringing together the experiences and perspectives of countries that have much in common, and by providing a regional building block between efforts at country level and coordination at global level. In this context, the Regional EST Forum in Asia can become the regional platform for the work of Asia Pacific countries to implement the global targets for sustainable transport. Given its importance in enabling development, transport has always featured strongly in ADB’s lending to developing member countries. In 2016, ADB approved loans of more than $4 billion for transport, accounting for 23% of its total lending.

25. H.E Mr. Somdy Douangdy, Deputy Prime Minister of the Lao PDR, welcomed and extended his warm greeting to all the participants of the Tenth EST Forum. He noted that Lao PDR is a Landlocked Developing Country (LLDC) geographically located in the heart of the Greater Mekong Sub-region

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING (GMS) and ASEAN region. The Lao PDR Government has always treated transport development as a spearhead for national socio-economic development. The Government has mobilized a significant proportion of the national budget as well as international assistance into transportation infrastructure development for promoting the movements of goods and people, and boosting tourism. The country has achieved impressive progress in economic growth, poverty reduction and social development during the implementation of the 7th National Social-Economic Development Plan and its endeavours to attain the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. In addition to the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Lao PDR has adopted its own national sustainable development goal on unexploded ordnance (UXO) as the SDG 18, aiming to reduce casualties, address the needs of victims, and clear the country in a way that most benefits the poorest parts of the population.

26. H.E Mr. Somdy Douangdy continued by saying that while Lao PDR has been making significant progress in the development of transport facilities on many modes including roads, waterways, airways and railways, the country is still facing many challenges due to limited funds to meet the rapid increase in transport demand. Moreover, the maintenance of existing infrastructure to ensure user safety, to meet durability and serviceability, and tackle natural disasters requires a substantial amount of funding. In order to address these challenges effectively, it is also crucial to strengthen rural-urban connectivity. Lao PDR is currently promoting investments for developing and improving transport infrastructure through the public-private-partnership (PPP) mechanism. He finally expressed his confidence for a successful outcome of the Forum as an important step towards sustainable transport development, particularly rural-urban connectivity, with smooth, safe and efficient movement. He finally proposed that the Forum be a platform for development partners and donors to jointly address the challenges to achieving the EST goals before officially opening the 10th Regional EST Forum in Asia.

IV. Environmentally Sustainable Transport – Connecting the dots to SDGs, Paris Climate Agreement and the New Urban Agenda

27. Building on the success of the Millennium Development Goals, in just the last two years we have seen the adoption of seven new global agendas intend to create a safer, cleaner and more sustainable world, namely: the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (2015), the Paris Agreement (2015), the New Urban Agenda (NUA) (2016), the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development (2015), the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and the Nairobi Mandate (2016). In order to achieve their respective goals, each of these agendas, along with numerous others, will need to act in a manner that reinforces efforts and harnesses synergies.

28. At the time of the adoption of the Bangkok 2020 Declaration in 2010 there were no such global agreements, and as such the declaration provided a visionary approach to not only inform efforts to shift towards sustainable transport, but to build a consortium of partners and collaborators to support the actual implementation. There is consensus that a focus on transport is a common thread across each global agreement and agenda, and in order to meet the various goals and targets, transport related activities should make use of the opportunities for synergies and multiple benefits. There is a need for institutional coordination at the national level to allow strategic consideration of how the delivery of the outcomes proposed in the Bangkok Declaration fits in with the contribution to the various global agreements. This can be of great help in streamlining reporting channels and avoiding duplication and overlap of efforts.

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING 29. Innovative approaches to mobility can reduce current transportation impacts such as air pollution, congestion, traffic accidents and fatalities, fossil fuel dependence, and increasing greenhouse gas emissions. However, this presents a significant challenge as much of the world’s transport system, including in the Asia-Pacific region, is automobile and fossil fuel dependent and is growing at a very fast rate. For instance, Asia is the fastest growing region in the world and it is anticipated that the vehicle fleet will double every 5 to 7 years.

30. Asian countries are making progress in “connecting the dots” in their response to the different global agreements as was demonstrated by a range of examples presented in the session. Indonesia has shown early leadership through the construction of a BRT system in 2004 in Jakarta that includes 1,350 buses, 465 kilometres of bus lanes, and 288 stations. Efforts are now being made to create a light rail system that can service an expected 180,000 urban passengers per day by 2019. India has also shown significant leadership in environmentally sustainable transport with a focus on increasing the availability, accessibility, and quality of public transport, such as currently providing some 326 kilometres of urban rail services and moving towards a single transit card. Recently some 177 cities have been provided a basic first service bus system and India has set the target of constructing 1,500 kilometres of bus rapid transport (BRT) systems by 2031. India has 250 kilometres of BRT in operation with 16 cities currently constructing some 300 kilometres of additional systems.

31. Actions on environmentally sustainable transport, like the ones presented in the Forum will contribute to several of the SDGs as well as specific transport related SDG targets, including: providing access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport (SDG 11.2); halving the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents (SDG 3.6); substantially reducing the number of deaths and illnesses from air pollution (SDG 3.9); and doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency (SDG 7.3).

32. A key part of each nation’s contribution to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change will need to come from a focus on environmentally sustainable transport as transport contributes about a quarter of energy related greenhouse gas emissions. At present, nearly two-thirds of the first generation of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) propose actions related to greenhouse gas emissions reduction in the transport sector. Although this is promising there is significant scope to include a greater focus on transport related measures with less than 10 percent including specific transport sector emissions reduction targets.

33. The New Urban Agenda includes a focus on EST in a number of areas including calling for a significant increase in sustainable public transport and non-motorised transport infrastructure over private motorised transport. In addition, it also calls for “better and coordinated transport and land-use planning” to reduce transport needs, enhance productivity, and maximize social, economic, and territorial cohesion. Better planning in urban freight and logistics is also needed to enable “efficient access to products,” minimize adverse environmental impacts, and maximize inclusive, sustainable economic growth. It also encourages the expansion of financing instruments in a wider range of transport modes and calls for better coordination between transport and urban planning departments of various government levels.

34. The Bangkok 2020 Declaration covers many of the transport related provisions of the different global agreements and the structure of the EST Forum, which actively brings together a range of national governmental stakeholders (e.g. Transport, Environment and Health), makes the EST Forum an excellent initiative to promote a coordinated approach to the implementation of global agreements on sustainable

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING development and climate change in the Asian region. The upcoming discussions on the future of the EST Forum for the period after 2020 when the current Bangkok 2020 Declaration comes to an end offers excellent opportunities to strengthen the role of the EST Forum even further when it comes to its role as a bridge between the Asian region and the different global agreements in the area of environmentally sustainable transport.

V. Achieving Greater Food Security, Women Empowerment, Poverty Eradication through Improved, Inclusive and Equitable Transport System

35. Lack of affordable, sustainable and equitable transport exacerbates poverty in Asia, all while very powerful demographic changes are taking place. Asia is the most populated continent with 4.4 billion people and growing quickly, while also rapidly urbanising, which presents many challenges to countries to both support new urban development as well as ensure that rural communities continue to improve economically and socially. Currently, two-thirds of the population of Asia lives in rural areas, but 80- 90% of the poor live in these rural areas of the region’s major countries, making improved rural access a key priority. If poverty is to be eliminated, and if agricultural and ecosystem services are to be enhanced, then poverty, social equity, and their relationship to rural-urban connectivity must be addressed.

36. The Forum noted that poverty and lack of access to transport are correlated, with movement of agricultural product to markets a major economic development challenge, and access to health care and other social institutions dramatically affecting quality of life. At the national level, inland or landlocked countries and populations often lack access to markets, finance and information, and therefore opportunities for development. It was emphasised that connectivity and access are important means of helping communities rise out of poverty, but it is not just roads that are key – water transport, trails and tracks and even suspension bridges can provide access to economic opportunities, markets, health and education, employment and community empowerment. 37. Comprehensive and integrated planning leading to improved access was identified as a key area of focus by Bhutan, Lao PDR, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Villages, families and individuals – including both men and women – require better access to health, education, credit and finance, labour markets, markets (and market information) for their agricultural and non-agricultural inputs, products and services. For agricultural products in particular, it was noted that better infrastructure leads to faster speed to market – expanding value chains to global markets where higher prices can be charged for exotic foods, an outcome observed in Thailand. 38. The benefits of equitable transport development were also made clear. In Sri Lanka it was found that by providing quality public transport that included considerations for women, access to employment increased significantly; in addition, night buses and publicly-operated buses on unprofitable long- distance routes also extended the ability of women to bring extra income to their families and to better organise their family affairs. A cycling program for schoolgirls in India was cited for improving the comfort of girls on their way to school, and for increasing their likelihood of staying in school longer. 39. Looking to the future, countries are focusing on creating more vibrant rural and agricultural communities while also ensuring that urban areas are prepared for new populations arriving every day. Human resources and capacity were cited as major challenges for ensuring that planning can be undertaken at an integrated level, and proposed solutions included development of professional training to normalise the concept of socially, environmentally and economically integrated planning by professionals and decision- makers, rather than making social issues the task of special personnel or departments. Taken another step,

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING governments can focus on creating enabling policy while allowing the private sector to optimise implementation of more equitable and more sustainable transport systems.

VI. Rural-Urban Connectivity in Achieving Sustainable Regional Development

40. Rural-urban connectivity is essential to improve access of rural populations to healthcare, education, and social and political activities, which are predominantly located in urban areas. An estimated 40 per cent of Asia Pacific’s rural population (totaling 700 million people) does not have access to an all-weather road. Isolated rural populations are more likely to be trapped in poverty, which disproportionately affects women, the elderly and the disabled. LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS in particular suffer from a lack of rural-urban connectivity. 41. Increasing connectivity between rural and urban areas through transport infrastructure and services (including road, rail, and inland waterway transport) can help to reduce isolation and accelerate progress toward a broad range of development goals. There is a need to increase resiliency of rural transport networks, and emphasize road safety and vehicle maintenance. With 80% of rural populations living relatively close to urban areas, there is potential to connect rural and urban areas through integrated eco- mobility solutions, including cycle paths, e-mobility and public transport, that are sensitive to a rural context.

42. A number of EST countries are taking steps to develop integrated rural and urban national transport strategies and policy frameworks. Nepal has achieved poverty reduction by almost 21% in several villages after introducing access roads, with per capita income increasing more than 100% in these areas; yet 55% of Nepal’s rural roads remain inoperable, stressing the need for investment and maintenance. In comparison, 86% of Bangladesh’s rural population is connected to local centres, making non-motorised transport a more feasible and sustainable means to decrease economic disparity. 43. Lao PDR is pursuing closer integration with SDGs to reduce development gaps between urban centers and rural areas. Programs to identify growth centers in rural areas to carry out urban functions through comprehensive territorial planning (including safe and affordable transport) have significantly lowered rural poverty rates from 2005 to 2015. Iran proposes to balance connectivity and sustainability by bringing urban activities closer to rural areas, thus reducing road fatalities and energy consumption due to expanding road networks, and avoiding mass migration from rural to urban areas. 44. More efforts are required to foster cooperation among national and provincial governments to enable movement of people and goods across rural-urban borders. Global processes can be leveraged to strengthen linkages in EST countries. Rural-urban connectivity is tied directly to SDGs, including Goal 2 (zero hunger); Goal 8 (decent work and economic growth); Goal 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure); Goal 10 (reduced inequalities); and Goal 11 (sustainable cities and communities). Efforts to connect rural-urban areas also complement implementation of the Habitat III New Urban Agenda, which includes strengthening rural-urban linkages among its primary objectives. 45. Moving forward, additional financing, capacity building, and technology sharing are needed to strengthen rural-urban linkages to meet Bangkok 2020 targets. Rural areas with tourist activity or small industries tend to be already well connected, and further development of this type can prompt governments to provide new sources of funding for rural-urban linkages. Municipalities also have the potential to fill funding gaps from national governments to increase rural-urban connectivity. In

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING summary, it is necessary to think of rural-urban networks in more dynamic terms, and to allow for the “reverse migration” of urban populations back to rural areas. VII. Introducing Draft Vientiane Declaration on Sustainable Rural Transport towards Achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

46. It is acknowledged that rural transport plays an enabling role in enhancing rural resiliency, community empowerment, and socio-economic transformation and increasing social equity, food security, poverty eradication, rural development and national economic prosperity. The importance of rural transport has been recognized in recent major global events and processes, such as the Global Sustainable Transport Conference 2016 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan; the Ministerial Conference on Transport 2016 in Moscow, Russian Federation; and the UN ESCAP Regional Strategy and Policy Framework to Improve Rural Transport Connectivity to Wider Local, National and Regional Transport Networks. Sustainable rural transport is considered integral to the successful achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by enabling 10 SDGs and 4 SDG targets.

47. The pre-event to the EST Forum, entitled “Contribution of Rural Transport to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” held on 13 March 2017, also discussed a viable pathway for the promotion and implementation of sustainable rural transport. Member countries of the Regional EST Forum in Asia, observer countries, international organisations, bilateral and multilateral agencies, civil society organisations, the scientific and academic community, the private sector, sustainable transport professionals, and other stakeholders also engaged in discussion and deliberation on key strategies for moving rural transport forward during the Tenth Regional EST Forum in Asia from 14 to 16 March 2017.

48. The Vientiane Declaration on Sustainable Rural Transport towards Achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a commitment to the promotion of inclusive, affordable, accessible, safe, low-carbon, and sustainable rural transport infrastructure and services, as a means, among other things, to improve connectivity between rural populations and essential services (such as education and health care), to streamline supply chain logistics from producers to consumers, to reduce impacts on local air and water pollution, and to adapt to the challenge of climate change with prioritised resilience options. The Vientiane Declaration is thus a major step towards improving rural-urban connectivity and an important driver for meeting the SDGs.

49. A vision to the successful implementation of sustainable rural access would be to develop a policy framework that aligns national plans and local needs, assigns clear roles and responsibilities amongst government agencies, encourages resource decentralization and local participation, ensures full project cycle commitment of different stakeholders, and allows innovative and integrated approaches in financing, construction, maintenance, partnership, and performance management of rural transport programs and projects, which could be different from the conventional approach to infrastructure development and evaluation. The Vientiane Declaration can help to fulfill this vision. A pre-circulated draft of the Vientiane Declaration on Sustainable Rural Transport was tabled for further comments and inputs by the participating countries.

VIII. Achieving Smart, Resilient, Low Carbon and Sustainable Cities

50. There is no doubt that the world is urbanising at a rapid rate, and hence the development of policies to underpin the transition to smart, resilient, and low carbon cities through to 2030 will be a key enabler to 13

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING achieve many of the SDGs, in particular policies related to transport and mobility as recommended in the Bangkok 2020 Declaration. In order to implement such policies it is clear that a whole of society approach is needed, harking back to the Local Agenda 21 partnerships approach, which sees governments at all levels working together with local organisations, businesses, education and research institutions, as well as local communities, to create real integration leading to best practices being implemented and shared.

51. Cities around the world are faced with the challenge to shift well-established patterns of transport in order to transition towards transport systems that work for all at the scale and pace of modern cities. This effort can be hindered by a lack of understanding of what can be done, given the rapid changes to transport planning approaches and supportive technologies, and in particular the most feasible strategies for each specific location. There is a need to ‘look afresh’ at how to meet the transport needs of growing cities and regions. It is important to understand that supporting policies may not be in place and additional work may need to be done to design and implement smart transport policies at the national level that underpin local efforts. There is a need to collaborate to build capacity in the planning, design, implementation and management of new schemes to advance sustainable transport goals that have the potential to extend across multiple administrations.

52. A key element of achieving the SDGs and other international agreements will be to cultivate direct links to tangible local activities, like the LRT pre-feasibility study undertaken in 2016 by the Government of Bhutan with the technical support of UNCRD, to provide vertical integration of efforts to avoid replication and align interests. This will need to be supported by strong policy frameworks that both inform and guide the application of innovation in the transport sector, and enable innovative financing approaches to be harnessed. Such vertical integration will provide a valuable framework to streamline data collection and reporting on progress both to inform future planning, design and implementation, but also to satisfy reporting requests related to various agreements.

53. The investigation into mass transit options for Bhutan has uncovered a number of areas where smart policy can play a key role, for instance fiscal policy that envisions a shift away from importing fossil fuels and moves towards harnessing the Kingdom’s abundant hydroelectric energy potential to power its transport system. Bhutan is also shining a light on how investment for the good of the present and the future can be well informed and considered through the wide involvement of multiple government agencies working closely with business, local government, and international experts.

54. India demonstrates a leading case of such vertical integration in urban development by starting with asking the question, “What do citizens expect in a city?” and using the answer to guide investment in local infrastructure and economic development options, with transport playing a significant role. In seeking funding from the national government, municipalities are invited to demonstrate how solutions to urban issues can be addressed through an ‘area-based’ approach rather than a ‘project-based’ approach with the requirement to demonstrate clear interlinkages and convergence of activities to create stronger citywide outcomes. The program seeks to identify areas in which citizens have been closely engaged to create lighthouse examples to demonstrate to other cities what can be done. To date, 60 cities have been selected, with a goal to achieve 100 cities across the country that will have access to over US$ 30 billion in funding from both the government and the private sector.

55. The value of this model is that in effect cities decide on the areas for investment and are given the responsibility to show how it will create citywide benefits in close collaboration with citizens and

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING businesses. In order to facilitate India’s 100 Cities Program, a “special purpose vehicle” (SPV) has been created that is a limited company with equity shareholding that is enabled to enter into new forms of procurement and access finance from external sources. Financing options available to the SPV include municipal bonds, public-private partnerships, lines of credit, loans, land monetisation, land based fiscal tools, and non-tax revenues. Policies to reduce venture risk include the ability for the SPV to undertake all stages of the project and enter into special commercial arrangements.

56. It is recommended that future efforts among EST member countries are made relevant to direct application by local municipalities, potentially including an element of capacity building, in order for practical experiences to inform regional and national decision making on how to progress sustainability related transport goals. These goals will have the potential to affect local activities, thus creating a virtuous cycle of practical application informing policy frameworks, and strategic investment that in turn informs practical application.

57. The Vientiane International Mayors Forum was held on 15 March 2017 as an integral part of the 10th EST Forum. The Mayors Forum discussed a number of other sustainable urban development issues, such as integrated planning, localising SDGs, addressing the New Urban Agenda, public participation in urban planning and development, financing, urban infrastructure, conservation of urban cultural and natural heritage, among others in support of SDG 11, which is entitled Make Cities and Human Settlements Inclusive, Safe, Resilient and Sustainable.

58. Cities play a critical role as centers of power and economic growth and are linked to a large number of SDGs beyond SDG 11. Embracing the SDGs and the New Urban Agenda provides an opportunity for reassessing traditional methods of city planning, development and management and engage in those in a more comprehensive, integrated and inclusive manner, while providing enough flexibility to adapt the global goals to local contexts, recognizing their particular circumstances, needs, priorities and governance structures. Although local authorities have embraced the SDGs and instituted different strategies, they need more support and guidelines to assume their responsibilities of implementing the SDGs at local level. Participatory planning involves working together with the inhabitants and cases were reported in using low-cost methods to integrate the views and desires of the citizens into city plans. Public participation formulates what should be done, and at the same time makes the citizens themselves 'owners' of city development. With public participation, the city government organises and executes what the people in the city want.

59. Financing remains a significant challenge in facilitating a sustainable cities transformation. In this regard, ways to increase transparency, accountability and monitoring is needed. Cities need revenue sources commensurate to the responsibilities for service delivery they have been assigned by higher levels of government. Cities need to improve their own sources of revenue, such as the property tax and consider using other financing mechanisms, such as PPPs, user charges, and value capture. Financing SDG 11 will require funding from several sources. National governments play a role in financing SDG 11 following rules that offer good incentives for cities enacting enabling legislations and not discouraging cities from charging direct beneficiaries through fees. Following the “benefiter pays” principle, car users need to pay a fairer share of the costs of building, operating, and maintaining the urban transport system.

60. Implementing green and clean city policies and projects of conservation of cultural and natural heritage, and maintaining and expanding urban recreational zones, parks, built monuments and other public

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING spaces typically falls under the authority of city administrations and local governments. Public consultations in the process of formulating those and other urban renewal related projects is essential to ensure the widest possible local public ownership of urban development programmes and projects. Direct and indirect promotion of sustainable tourism can generate some significant additional incomes for cities through additional business and employment opportunities. However, effective protection and conservation of local natural and cultural resource base, including intangible heritage, is essential for long-term sustainability of tourism industries.

61. In order to protect investments and sustain development gains through resilience it is essential to have in place baseline data and an effective asset management system to understand the current condition, functionality, level of risk exposure and vulnerability of assets and systems and information on the users. Post-disaster assessments should guide future actions to strengthen resilience. Applying risk-informed planning and design strengthens resilience proactively. Robust governance and institutional systems, capacities and technologies are required to ensure reliable and effective quality assurance and compliance in the planning design and implementation of development initiatives. Despite the level of resilience integrated into development planning, some risks will remain thus requiring emphasis on disaster management initiatives that are designed to take people out of harm’s way.

62. As a demonstration of their leadership and commitment towards SDG 11, twenty-nine participating city mayors and local government representatives (Vientiane City, Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Luang Prabang City, Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Quezon City, the Philippines; Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Thailand; Bulawayo City, Zimbabwe; Cebu City, the Philippines; Colombo City, Sri Lanka; Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City, Nepal; Guwahati Municipal Corporation, India; Honiara City Council, Solomon Islands; Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, Pakistan; Kathmandu Valley Development Authority, Nepal; Suwon City, Republic of Korea; Kuching South City, Malaysia; Lilongwe City Council, Malawi; Male City Council, Maldives; Mandalay City Development Committee, Myanmar; Matale Municipal Council, Sri Lanka; Nakhon Ratchasima City, Thailand; Port Villa City, Vanuatu; Seberang Perai Municipal Council, Malaysia; Surabaya City, Indonesia; Surakarta City, Indonesia; Tangerang City, Indonesia; Ulaanbaatar City, Mongolia; Victoria City, Seychelles; Yan’an Municipal People’s Government, People’s Republic of China; Yogyakarta City, Indonesia; Zhanjiang Municipal Government, People’s Republic of China) unanimously and voluntarily adopted and signed the Kyoto Declaration and the Addendum for the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Towards Realising Resilient, Smart and Livable Cities in Asia (see Annex I). The signing ceremony was presided over by the Vice Mayor of Vientiane City, H.E. Mr. Keophilavanh Aphaylath and the Deputy Minister of Public Works and Transport (MPWT), Lao PDR, H.E. Dr. Santisouk Simmalavong.

IX. Country Reporting Session I: Reporting and Reviewing Progress towards Implementation of Bangkok 2020 Declaration on EST (2010~2020)

63. The member countries of the Regional EST Forum in Asia were requested to submit a consolidated country report to the 10th Forum to sharing their progress, achievements and challenges faced in implementing the Bangkok 2020 Declaration. This process allows EST member countries’ to share their progress, achievements and initiatives, as well as to identify current and future challenges to implementing each of the 20 underlined goals of the voluntary Bangkok 2020 Declaration (in addition to realising the Bali Vision Three Zeros – Zero Congestion, Zero Pollution, and Zero Accidents towards Next Generation Transport Systems in Asia). The information and experience provided by member 16

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING countries will also help development agencies, development banks, other donors, and other transport professionals and support groups in assessing the sustainable transport needs and challenges of each member country, to provide better support in achieving these common goals.

64. Expert panelists observed that tremendous progress has been made by all reporting countries in nearly all of the 20 goals of the Bangkok 2020 Declaration, which has proven a useful framework for the systematic review of sustainable transport efforts of EST member countries. While each member country is moving forward with various plans and strategies, common challenges to further progress have remained an issue, notably in terms of the lack of finance and resource support, and the need for capacity building. Expert panelists also highlighted a number of areas that would enhance the EST process, such as more central inclusion of a freight transport dimension, rural-urban integration, new financing and partnership models, data collection and monitoring to support program implementation and evaluation, and appreciation of the cost of vehicle use and related externalities.

65. The following sections provide a brief recap of the seven country reports and presentations during Session 6:

66. Afghanistan: The Afghanistan National Development Framework and vision for 2016-2025 was introduced, which prioritizes urban planning, including transport planning. The National Strategy for Green Transport was also introduced. A National Committee for Transport under the chair of President’s Special Representative for good Governance to oversee urban and rural transport management was established. Significant progress has been made in transport connectivity, particularly in air transport through public private partnerships has been a successful program. New regional highways that link 34 provincial capitals, as well as railway development under the mandate of the National Railways Authority of Afghanistan. Rail links with neighboring countries, such as Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, People’s Republic of China, Iran as per the plan, was established and partially operating between countries. An MOU between Afghanistan and Pakistan for rail connectivity is underway. The private sector has been engaged to invest in urban mass transport systems, and fuel inspection facilities at border customes have been established. CNG/LPG conversion plan and strategy is ongoing in major cities to reduce vehicular emissions. The National Air Quality Management Regulation as well as the National Air Quality Strategy and Policy and Guideline are in the enforcement stage, including a Noise Pollution Control Regulation. The Climate Change Institutional Framework has been put in place including implementation of National Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, and a passenger safety strategy will be developed in near future. In order to reduce the adverse impacts of transport sector on environment, Environmental Impact Assessment process have been undertaken for all types of activities and are ongoing. Establishment of the Supreme Council for Urban Development under the chairmanship of H.E the President of Afghanistan has been an initiative. The Presidential decree to shift the Police Traffic Department to municipal levels of government is an example of very recent progress made in the country.

67. Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan has invested almost $20 billion in transport infrastructure since 2003, under state programs such as the State Program on Socio-Economic Development of Regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan (2004-2008, 2009-2013, and 2014-2018) and the State Program of Development of Railway Transportation System of the Country for 2010- 2014, resulting in the building and repairing of 8,300 km of roads, and constructing or repairing 307 new bridges and viaducts. Airports in Nakhchivan, Ganja, Lenkeren, Zaqatala, Qabala and Yevlakh were put into operation. Efforts to introduce environmentally friendly buses in Baku city began in 2015, along with providing NMT facilities in

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING major cities, implementing Euro-5 emission standards for vehicles, and enforcing vehicle inspection and maintenance. Azerbaijan is considering the use of electric vehicles in the near future, with plans to install EV charging stations in Baku and elsewhere in the country.

68. Bangladesh: Several policy interventions to promote sustainable transport, such as the Road Transport Act 2017, Revised Strategic Transport Plan 2017 for Dhaka, Dhaka Structure Plan (2016-2035), MRT Act 2016 and BRT Act 2017, and Road Safety Action Plan 2016-2018, were introduced. Efforts are being made to reduce travel, including through district e-service centers and Union Information and Service Centers that provide all major public services via the internet, and to some extent through online ticketing systems for air, train and bus services. Measures to shift passengers away from private cars include designated lanes for NMT on selected urban and inter-city roads, the construction of one mass transit rail systems and one BRT, the launch of a bus sector reform project for Dhaka, and the introduction of water taxis in Dhaka. Hybrid and solar powered vehicles, and soot-free urban buses have also been introduced. A modern vehicle inspection center was commissioned in Dhaka, and a road safety curriculum was incorporated in primary schools. Accident prone black spots in major National Highways have been identified and addressed accordingly. Bangladesh also initiated a National EST forum following the regional EST initiative.

69. Bhutan: Most urban centers in Bhutan now have local area plans and follow an integrated land use and transport planning process. For example, under the Thimphu Structural Plan 2002-2027, transport corridors and bus terminals sensitive to land use have been identified. Efforts have been made to improve public transport, including the procurement of 18 buses through government funding in Thimphu, the introduction of an e-ticketing system, the undertaking of a pre-feasibility study for light rail transit, and the exemption of passenger transport operators from paying import duties. In addition, vehicle emission standards are reviewed and up-graded periodically, and eight air quality monitoring stations have been set up. More user-friendly pedestrian crossings have been put in place with strict monitoring to reduce accidents. Under the electric vehicle initiative, the Royal Government of Bhutan has provided fiscal incentives and free charging stations to promote the uptake of EVs in the country, and congestion charging, ITS, and electric buses would be considered in the future.

70. Cambodia: In addition to road development strategies and long term development plans to support economic growth and urban development (such as the Phnom Penh Ring Roads Development), efforts have been made in Cambodia to improve railways, waterways and ports. For example, the government allocated a further $33 million to complete repair of the northern rail line by 2017. The Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (SAP) is undergoing development and is due for completion in 2017. Further, efforts to tighten traffic enforcement have resulted in a significant reduction in injuries and fatalities, and Cambodia was named winner of the International Road Safety award in 2016. NMT has been promoted, with biking a popular choice for tourism. The 2035 Urban Transport Master Plan is mapping out future strategies for Phnom Penh including short to long term public transport plans, on-street parking improvements, and integration of transport and land use planning.

71. India: The 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017), Comprehensive Mobility Planning (CMP), and Service Level Benchmarks (SLB) provide the framework for the development of urban transport and integrated land use and transport planning in India. In 2014, the Urban Development Plans Formulations and Implementation Guidelines underwent changes, including inclusive planning, sustainable habitat, land use and transport integration, and the preparation of CMP for urban transport. More than 100 CMPs and 90 master plans have been prepared by various cities, and TOD policy and guidelines, and a Green

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING Urban Mobility Scheme is being launched. India has plans to strengthen the public transport system, to develop road infrastructure, and to introduce new metro projects. About 620 km of BRT is in various stages of development across 16 cities. Measures to promote smart city development, manage parking, enhance NMT (e.g. bike sharing, car free zones), introduce ITS based traffic management solutions, and tighten fuel and vehicle standards have been introduced.

72. Indonesia: The Master Plan for Transport in Greater Jakarta places a strong emphasis on integrating land use and transport planning. Programs are proposed to develop road and rail based mass rapid transit in inner and outer Jakarta, with TOD concept being adopted. 19 cities outside Greater Jakarta have implemented BRT systems. Pedestrian facilities have been developed in selected station locations, and car free days have been organized in 21 cities. TDM measures have been considered, including electronic road pricing (ERP), prohibition of motorcycle use, introduction of ITS on highways and non- toll roads, and development of area traffic control systems. Before ERP, restriction of private car use by odd-even license plate numbering will be implemented. Clean fuels such as natural gas are being promoted for taxis and some public vehicles in Jakarta and Surabaya. There are also efforts to enforce periodical vehicle testing, and to enhance road safety through the National Plan of Road Safety (2011- 2035). Activities to monitor and reduce the impact of vehicular emissions continue implemented under the Ministry of Environment’s Blue Sky Program since 1992.

X. Country Reporting Session II: Reporting and Reviewing Progress towards Implementation of Bangkok 2020 Declaration on EST (2010~2020)

73. The major themes of the second country reporting session focused on rural transport development, with all speakers addressing challenges related to construction and funding of rural projects; master planning of transport and land use, with several countries reporting the development of national, regional and local plans; and road safety also featured as an important factor in discussions. Integrated planning was raised as a theme of discussion, and the importance of integrated planning and policy development for the evolution of environmentally sustainable transport in countries was also discussed.

74. Overall, integration, inter-modality and common information sources were determined to be key for sustainable transport strategies. Integration included the concept of inter-ministerial or interdepartmental communication and coordination, which remains a challenge for many countries. It was recommended that countries enhance linkages to the SDGs, the New Urban Agenda and the Paris Agreement to bring national governments into closer alignment with sustainable transport measures, and to access new funding sources such as carbon pricing through NDC mechanisms. Finally, it was remarked that the Bangkok 2020 Declaration, despite being adopted seven years ago, is still a very relevant document in guiding EST countries towards on-the-ground progress.

75. Islamic Republic of Iran: The 10th Regional EST Forum is the first for the Islamic Republic of Iran to submit an EST country report. Transport policies in the country are developed by the Deputy of Rural Development and Deprived Areas under the Office of the President, as well as the Deputy of Rural Roads and the Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company under the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development. Iran has more than 20 million people living in rural regions, with more than 5,500 of 10,000 villages with unpaved road access; thus, road paving is an important strategy to improve connectivity. Iran aims to achieve 128,000 km of paved roads by 2021, with safety provision, new asphalt overlay and maintenance, bridge rehabilitation and rural public transport

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING development. Road safety is a key priority, with awareness raising and research underway, especially in the area of speed reduction.

76. Japan: Japan has made important progress in many areas of its EST strategy. Integrated land-use and transportation planning is largely in place, which includes comprehensive urban and regional transport strategy in 80 areas under development, with 52 certified by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Low Carbon City Plans and Regional Public Transport Network Formation Plans are also in place, and Japan’s transport “Shift” strategy is also coming into place. NMT (including legal frameworks for cycling), public transport, TDM and inter-city passenger and goods transport have been the main focuses of Japan’s efforts, with examples of integrated planning and shift towards low carbon transport modes at Shinjuku station illustrated. Forward-looking “Improve” strategies are also largely in place, including a goal to install numerous hydrogen fueling stations with renewable energy by the end of FY 2019.

77. Republic of Korea: The Republic of Korea, having achieved consensus for environmental protection, has maintained a focus on reducing road space available for private vehicles and increasing the comfort and availability of public transport. Korea’s framework for improving public transit services is an innovative and detailed voluntary competition among operators. The operators are rated in terms of business management, financial soundness, safety, operation management and customer satisfaction, resulting in best practices sharing, monitoring of safety and maintenance issues improved, and safety training for sub-standard operators. The Republic of Korea is now working on developing methods for chartered bus mode evaluation. CNG buses are being encouraged through subsidies, and big data is being used to track public transport performance.

78. Kyrgyzstan: Rural transport is a major focus for the country, with 95% of freight and 97% of passenger transport occurring over rural roads. The road development strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic (2015- 2020) has defined a system for fulfilling the development needs of sustainable transport, defining the needs and interests of domestic carriers, and complementary policies for vehicles in the context of health. Transport system expansion was reported as an on-the-ground accomplishment achieving generally positive outcomes, advancing the rights and interests of domestic carriers with an aim to achieve the performance of those industries, and addressing safety concerns to some degree. Finally, strategies to improve the technology of vehicles and fuel quality (or alternative fuels) are being leveraged to reduce the health impacts of transport in Kyrgyzstan.

79. Lao PDR: Although Lao PDR does not have a single transport management agency, the Vientiane Sustainable Transport Project aims to organise transport in Vientiane and the country at large, with the aim to shift priority from private vehicles to public transport. The Project includes high-quality bus service and BRT, traffic management to reduce congestion, paid parking and a new national vehicle registration system to recover costs and ensure proper enforcement of private vehicle use, and improved accessibility for pedestrians and NMT in central Vientiane. Financing for the Project provided by the ADB, EIB, OPEC Fund for International Development and other multilateral funds – along with 14.59% of investment from the Government of Lao PDR and 6.43% from the private sector – became effective in August 2016, with construction to begin in 2020.

80. Malaysia: The National Physical Plan, National Logistics Master Plan, Government Transformation Plan, and Land Public Transport Plan form a framework for transport development in Malaysia. Further, the country is focused on long-term planning of urban public transport, safe walking and cycling, carbon

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING emission reduction through cleaner fuels such as biodiesel and CNG, and new public transport projects such as MRT, East Coast Rail Link and electrified double tracking of existing railways. These strategies are being enhanced through TOD projects at some LRT and MRT stations in Kuala Lumpur, as well as the development of KL Sentral as a transit hub. The country has also approved new ambient air quality standards for six air pollutants to help support policy development. It was reported that Malaysia needs to coordinate and integrate between the Land Public Transport Commissions and Ministry of Transport to attain sustainable transport, and that it will focus on new transport business models such as road pricing, car share and load share programmes.

81. Maldives: This island country, with 198 populated islands out of 1190 total islands employs ferries as the main mode of inter-island transport, with on-island transport provided by motorcycle, car and taxi. Maldives has a relatively low population of vehicles, and therefore enjoys a cleaner urban environment, but the vehicle population is increasing. The capital Male, with a very small surface area, is highly congested, and therefore motorcycle taxis have recently been introduced with the aim to avoid the negative impacts of a one-person, one-motorbike ratio. The country is focusing on electric vehicles, and the use of solar energy to power them. Finally, while some air travel is utilised, boats remain the primary form of inter-island transport.

82. Mongolia: To address challenges related to legal processes and frequent changes to national land-use and transport planning policy and land procurement for transport projects, Mongolia has developed and approved a master plan for Ulaanbaatar City to 2030, to guide urban form. Similarly, master plans for the national road network, regional transport networks in Dornogobi and Bulgan Provinces, and an Ulaanbaatar Transport Investment program by the ADB have evolved. Ulaanbaatar City’s master plan focuses on the creation of sub-centres to decentralise some urban functions while creating opportunities for BRT public transport development and TOD initiatives. The country aims to implement these plans and further improve transport technologies to enhance improvements made through “Shift” and “Avoid” strategies, NMT facilities and TDM. Bangkok 2020 goals have been important for Mongolia as guidance to achieve SDGs up to 2030.

83. Myanmar: Myanmar has undertaken many comprehensive and targeted plans for transport, including the Myanmar National Transport Master Plan; the Comprehensive Urban Transport Plan of Greater Yangon; the National Road Safety Action Plan; railway, highway, and bus service plans; and increased use of LPG across the country to drive the strategic development of the transport system. The speed of development in Myanmar creates some challenges, including institutional, financial, technical, human resources, legal and other important issues, which must be resolved in the context of these plans. Next, the country will focus on plans related to telecommunications, rural roads and access, e-government and logistics. Myanmar has claimed successes in more flexible, integrated communication with the global community, more official development assistance, more international investors, and more transport plans that are based on observed and projected needs.

84. Nepal: Nepal suffers from the challenges of the overpopulation of vehicles; a US $25 billion funding shortfall; the need to upgrade, operate and maintain vehicles; and the need to construct, operate and maintain vehicle license testing centers. Some of the strategies reported by Nepal to implement sustainable transport include laws on vehicle and transport management, public roads, and national transport policy. Laws on road safety, urban development authority and public-private partnerships are under formulation process. Master plans are under development at the national, regional and local levels, along with plans for the East-West Railway, transport corridors and special economic zones, improved

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING rural access, among others. Nepal currently has 15,000 kilometres of gravel or earthen strategic roads, and 60,000 kilometres of local road networks that require significant funding to upgrade. Research initiatives on local roads are started for the application of appropriate technologies.

XI. Country Reporting Session III: Reporting and Reviewing Progress towards Implementation of Bangkok 2020 Declaration on EST (2010~2020)

85. Many countries have implemented environmentally sustainable policies and legislation for achieving safe, secure, reliable, affordable, efficient, people-centric and environment-friendly transport in the rapidly urbanising Asia-Pacific region. Some of the prominent strategies include integrating land-use and transport planning, integrating NMT components into transport master plans, improving public transport services, road safety improvements, fuel quality and vehicle emission standard improvement and intelligent transportation systems. Some of the significant challenges include financing, institutional capacity building, knowledge sharing, technology transfer, innovative solutions and lack of appropriate interventions in the freight sector.

86. Pakistan: Pakistan has developed several strategic initiatives based on Pakistan Vision 2025, which includes a draft national transport policy, BRT, trucking policies for freight sector and intelligent transport systems. To improve environmentally sustainable transport systems, Pakistan is strengthening its existing railway system, improving inter-modal connectivity, initiating TDM policies such as removing fuel subsidies, parking fees, conversion of two- to four-stroke engines, electronic fare systems in public transport systems, improving fuel quality and introducing cleaner vehicles. These initiatives yield significant co-benefits.

87. The Philippines: The Philippines has developed a set of policies, measures and legislation to implement environmentally sustainable transport initiatives, including omnibus guidelines, city land use planning, decongestion plans, use of telecommuting and other ICT-based tools, and a logistics master plan. EST initiatives include reducing vehicle movement with TDM measures such as a unified vehicular volume reduction program, staggered working hours, pedestrian and cycling improvement initiatives, and fuel efficiency improvements. The Philippines is also improving public transport in both urban and rural areas with initiatives such as bus improvements, BRT, light and metro rail systems, public utility vehicle modernization programs, automatic fare collection, and railway improvement.

88. Russian Federation: The Russian Federation has implemented a transport strategy for the period until 2030, which declares the priority of integrated development of all public transport systems and envisages developing pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure and improving accessibility in urban areas, which are essential elements of the EST Bangkok 2020 Declaration. The transport strategy envisages progressive targets such as 20% share of alternative fuels in total fuel consumption of motor vehicles, and a 40% share of vehicles with hybrid, electric motors and engines with alternative fuels in vehicle fleet by 2030. The Russian Federation has established a road safety target and has already introduced ITS applications to improve travel efficiency. The development of regulatory and legal frameworks has enabled the scaling-up of EST strategies.

89. Singapore: Singapore’s sustainable transport policies are at a very mature stage. Most actions proposed under the Bangkok 2020 Declaration are either under progress or largely in place. The 2013 Singapore Land Transport Master Plan combines multiple EST elements with the primary objective to develop public transport as a choice mode. The 2015 public transport mode share in peak hours was 66% and is

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING targeted to increase to 70% by 2020. The National Cycling Plan has targeted construction of 700km of off-road cycling paths to be implemented island-wide by 2030. Some of the prominent EST initiatives include a vehicle quota system, electronic road pricing, carbon emissions-based vehicle scheme, early turnover scheme for old diesel vehicles, a rail development plan, planning and piloting of new technologies, an electric vehicle car-sharing programme and a high-speed rail link connecting Singapore with Kuala Lumpur.

90. Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka has recently developed a Megapolis Development Plan to integrate land-use and transport planning processes, a railway strategic plan to increase rail freight mode share, and an action plan to improve road safety. Some of the prominent EST initiatives proposed are the development of LRT corridors, multi-modal transport hubs, improvement of bus corridors, BRT, prepaid cards for fare collection, pedestrian facilities improvements, separate lanes for cyclists, parking management, railway expansion and improvements, inland water transportation improvements, IT based bus management systems, preparation of a clean air action plan, fuel quality improvements, tax reduction for EVs, and development of the Haritha (Green) Lanka Action Plan.

91. Tajikistan: Tajikistan is prioritising public transport improvements in its environmentally sustainable transport measures. Improvements include electronic displays for public transport facilities, market competition for public transport services, regulation of procedures for public transport carriers, station and terminal improvements, use of alternative fuels and energy sources in public transport initiatives, maintenance and repair of public transport vehicles, institutional improvements, vehicle inspections, and improved parking facilities. These initiatives are intended to improve quality of life and stimulate economic growth.

92. Timor-Leste: Timor-Leste is improving connectivity to promote equitable socio-economic development. By the end of 2030, the target is to connect all villages with appropriate road infrastructure, all coastal districts with appropriate maritime transport infrastructure and all cities with accessible walking networks and transport infrastructure. Many initiatives are being undertaken to accelerate urban transport infrastructure and to connect urban and rural communities. To improve road safety, a safe driving training course is being developed, inspection, licensing and enforcement of vehicles are being ensured. Timor-Leste is also considering restriction of importation of second-hand vehicles and improving public transport by increasing the number of buses. Timor-Leste is also modernizing its traffic control system and improving its telecommunication infrastructure.

93. Thailand: Thailand is targeting a 26% to 29% reduction in transport emissions by 2030. To reach this goal, Thailand has initiated several initiatives to improve environmental sustainability of the transport sector. It has recently developed an intercity train development strategic plan to improve intercity passenger transport. Thailand has included walking and cycling in transport master plans in all major cities of the country. Thailand has developed about 566 km of bicycle lanes and will increase the infrastructure to 700 km over the country. Thailand is also promoting alternative fuel vehicles such as CNG, hybrid and electric. Thailand’s fuel quality is proposed to be improved to Euro V by 2020. ICT has been largely introduced in many government agencies and improvement of transport logistics hubs are being carried out to improve supply chains.

94. Uzbekistan: Uzbekistan is a double landlocked country, and thus has significant challenges in ensuring environmentally sustainable transport movement. The country’s main priorities include improvement in transport infrastructure, especially roads and railways. Significant efforts are being made to improve rail

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING transport infrastructure and electrify the rail network, to access international financing of large transport projects, and to introduce new technologies and simplify border-crossing facilities.

95. Viet Nam: Viet Nam has initiated a set of policies to implement environmentally sustainable transport initiatives such as laws on rail and maritime transport, transport master plans in the three main economic regions of Viet Nam, a biofuels road map, regulation of air pollutant emissions and ambient air quality. Some of Viet Nam’s prominent EST initiatives include public transport improvements through MRT and BRT development, public bicycle scheme pilot projects, improving rural transport connectivity, parking pricing, vehicle emission standards improvement (i.e. Euro 3 for motorcycles, and Euro 4 for automobiles by 2017, Euro 5 by 2022), introduction of GPS devices, prevention of overloading of vehicles, and increasing freight mode share of rail and inland waterway transport. Viet Nam has targeted a 20% bus and taxi fleet share fueled by LPG and CNG by 2020, and an 80% share by 2050.

XII. Insight to Implementation of the Bangkok 2020 Declaration ~ Policy Trends and Developments, Challenges and Opportunities

96. The Bangkok 2020 Declaration is a key policy framework document that has organised and led the development of sustainable transport throughout the Asia region since it was adopted in 2010. At the 10th Regional EST Forum, the highest number of country reports ever have been submitted to the UNCRD Secretariat, suggesting increased interest in the EST over time, as well as recognition of the utility of the Bangkok 2020 Declaration – along with other multilateral agreements, indicating that this process has elevated the role of sustainable transport in national policy dialogues. While new countries have now joined the Forum, the countries that have reported over a number of years have all shown progress towards at least some of the twenty Bangkok 2020 Declaration goals; yet challenges remain for many countries to achieve integrated and comprehensive approaches to sustainable transport.

97. The primary areas where countries are seeing progress include improvement in the “Shift” strategies, especially in the area of mass transit, including through the development of BRT, MRT and other systems. Many countries have recognised the importance of active, non-motorised transport modes, and are integrating these modes into their long-term plans. Rail is an increasingly important topic of discussion, with freight and passenger projects under discussion or construction across the region, offering cleaner urban and long-distance travel where appropriate. “Avoid” strategies are also seeing progress, where transport planning at the national, regional and local levels is increasingly reported by countries, with some instances of integrated land use and transport planning. The cross-cutting issue of road safety has received a great deal of attention through the Bangkok 2020 Declaration process, with many countries reporting progress in policy and presenting data suggesting that road collisions and fatalities are decreasing over time. Finally, even though “Improve” strategies have seen relatively less progress than the other categories, the implementation of CNG vehicles has been an important change observed across the region, with electrification of road and rail vehicles a growing trend.

98. While significant progress has been made, there is still much to do to scale up and implement innovations in sustainable transport. The emerging issues of managing motorcycle use, promoting institutional change to restructure transport systems (and reducing associated public financial risks), and furthering professional development and capacity building of planners, engineers and decision-makers to improve social equity in transport all present opportunities for the Regional EST Forum to further its role in enhancing sustainable transport.

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING 99. The Bangkok 2020 Declaration is recognised to have been prescient in its systematic approach to sustainable transport in Asia, and there is demand for an expansion of the role of the Regional EST Forum to address next-generation issues: in the shift of rural- to urban-majority populations, in the shift from issues of poverty to issues of relative affluence, and in the shift from societies that are technologically deficient to societies that have an abundance of data and opportunities. The Forum offers a platform to share good practices and case studies, learn from mistakes, and optimise transport systems. Yet the EST Forum is just that – a forum – and individual countries ultimately need to leverage this cooperative process as a means to incorporate shared practices, reform legal and political systems, and establish their own sustainable transport systems.

XIII. Role of Road Safety in Achieving Sustainable Development

100. This session addressed the economics of road safety and what implies under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development along with a presentation on the Global Plan of Action, and regional goals, targets and indicators for achieving SDG target 3.6 to halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accident by 2020 by the representation of World Health Organization (WHO). Road traffic accidents and injuries are a major public health problem and a leading cause of fatalities in the Asia EST region. The total number of fatalities due to road accidents in the Asian EST region in 2013 was almost 700,000, representing just over half the road fatalities globally. The majority of fatalities were incurred in the People's Republic of China (38%) and India (30%). In 2011 the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020) was established with a goal to stabilize and reduce the predicted levels of road fatalities around the world. Building on this agenda in 2015 the SDGs included a clear focus on road safety via SDG Target 3.6, namely: “By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents”.

101. Vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, are particularly at risk and globally represent half of road fatalities. This percentage is slightly higher in most EST countries, and is as much as 80 percent in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Hence it is clear that road safety has a major impact on the economies of Asian countries. The total resulting cost estimate for road accidents in the EST countries in 2010 is $735 billion, of which almost half in the People's Republic of China. In the Asian EST region it is estimated that some 3.3% of GDP is lost on average, with the highest value (more than 4%) for the South Asia region. These cost estimates may be conservative since they exclude major cost components like property damage costs, costs of minor injuries, medical costs and administrative costs.

102. Realising SDG Target 3.6 could yield for EST countries a saving of more than 340,000 lives annually and a reduction of the burden on the economy with more than $350 billion per year, equivalent to a growth in GDP of more than 1.5%. Such targets are extremely ambitious, but on the other hand examples from all over the world have shown that significant improvements are possible. Road safety performance indicators have been developed by UN ESCAP and based on data in the WHO 2015 Global Status Report can be used to create a dashboard of road safety in Asia.

103. Lao PDR has adopted a framework to inform a decade of action on road safety that includes a focus on five areas, namely: road safety management, safer roads and mobility, safer vehicles, safer road users, and post-crash responses. Specific mechanisms have been identified to improve road safety through initiatives in the five areas, which include helmet wearing, dissuading drink driving, speed management, seat belt use, licencing, nighttime visibility, and traffic management. In line with the focus on local implementation mentioned in other topics, the program includes a local fund to support 25

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING “black spot” treatment in towns, the installation of traffic signals and signs, public awareness campaigns and community dialogues, and enforcement of road laws (with funds also received to support such initiatives from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank).

104. Actions to improve road safety can be categorised into four areas, namely: enforcement, education, engineering, and emergency response. A number of recommendations followed from the session, among others, concerning the need for further analysis in the field of economic impact of traffic accidents (estimated to be some $730 billion in 2010 in EST countries), the need for accurate accident data systems in a country, assessment of the effectiveness of road safety measures (such as separate lanes for pedestrians and cyclists, traffic calming devices including raised crossings, medians, vertical deflectors, signage, car restrictions, road narrowing, and pedestrian refugee islands), the importance of safe public transport, and the need to address safety in rural transport systems.

XIV. Green Freight and Logistics in the Context of SDGs

105. The increasing movement of freight has enabled the Asia-Pacific region’s economic progress by connecting agricultural and natural resource areas to population and employment centres, and international gateways to facilitate movement of food, energy, fabricated goods, and raw materials as well as to track and combat illegal movements of hazardous waste. Yet, growing freight activity also endangers environmental and social sustainability, as freight generates a disproportionate share of traffic-related externalities such as congestion, air pollution, greenhouse gases, and traffic fatalities. Freight transport activity now accounts for about 7% of global economy-wide GHG emissions and about 35% to 60% of total logistics costs, depending on commodity type and supply chain.

106. Sustainable freight provides a foundation for sustainable development by facilitating economic growth, promoting trade, improving access and linking communities to protect the planet and increase prosperity for all. Sustainable freight serves as an enabler for the achievement of almost every SDG. The benefits of sustainable freight do not accrue to a single stakeholder such as freight operators or individual nations, but rather serve multiple public policy goals locally, across borders and throughout supply chains. Sustainable freight is one of the critical pillars of the EST process as an enabler of 19 out of total 20 goals of the Bangkok 2020 Declaration.

107. Some challenges in implementing sustainable freight include institutional and governance issues, lack of financing, capacity, and partnerships; poor data availability; and lack of interventions on urban freight which is not well integrated into city planning, especially in developing countries.

108. Many stakeholders are taking proactive steps in implementing environmentally sustainable freight systems. For example, UNCTAD is advancing the state-of-the-practice in sustainable freight strategy development by providing a comprehensive framework tool to help freight stakeholders build skills and knowledge on sustainable freight transport and provides a step-by-step guide for developing a sustainable freight transport strategy. In addition, railways can form the backbone of environmentally sustainable transport, and thus improving railways can result in significant environmental benefits and provide significant contributions to the SDGs.

109. Many EST countries are trying to shift road freight mode share to more sustainable modes. Lao PDR is implementing several sustainable freight initiatives with support from development agencies including ADB and GIZ. These projects include improving access to financing, improving driver behaviour, 26

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING improving regulations on transport of dangerous goods, improving logistics management, and capacity building. The experience from Lao PDR suggests that multiple components of sustainable freight could be addressed in parallel with the active partnership of the private sector.

110. Participants emphasised the importance of scaling-up sustainable freight initiatives. Sustainable freight must be prioritised because it supports the achievement of the SDGs and the goals of several other international processes including the New Urban Agenda, the Paris Agreement, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the Vienna Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2014 – 2024, the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway, the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011- 2020 and the Nairobi Mandate (2016).

111. The session confirmed that scaling-up sustainable freight requires an active involvement of all stakeholders, especially the private sector. Freight movement goes beyond borders and transport markets are increasingly integrated at the regional level; as a result, standards and approaches must be harmonised across countries, making regional cooperation a must. With global and regional processes already providing momentum for action on sustainable freight, a logical next step could be to develop a regional agreement on sustainable freight to collectively address freight issues under the framework of the Regional EST Forum in Asia. For example, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Viet Nam have initiated pilot demonstration projects on improving freight fuel efficiency by technology retrofit and driver training.

XV. The Way Forward

112. Member countries of the Regional EST Forum in Asia are parties to various global agendas and agreements on sustainable development and climate change. Information presented by a wide range of countries indicates that the Asian region is already undertaking a wide range of activities that support multiple global agreements. There is agreement that action on environmentally sustainable transport, the current focus of the EST Forum, is key to ensure that social and economic sustainability related objectives of the global agreements on sustainable development are achieved as well. Likewise, actions taken to improve social and economic sustainability of transport is often also beneficial for the environmentally sustainability of transport.

113. To ensure the success of a 2030 Roadmap on Sustainable Transport that is aligned with the SDGs, countries will need to find a common ground in transport sector policies that addresses the multiple global agendas and agreements that affect the transport sector. They can best do so by capitalizing on synergies that exist between actions taken in support of different agreements. For example, dedicated climate mitigation actions or investments in transport sector in line with Paris Agreement will not only help Asian countries to remain well below of the two degrees Celsius scenario (2DS), but would also help them achieve resilience of their cities in line with SDG 11, the Sendai Framework and the Habitat III New Urban Agenda. Similarly dedicated climate adaptive measures and investments in rural transport sector could help raise resilience and food security (SDG 2: End hunger and achieve food security) of rural community.

114. To achieve such synergies, better institutional cooperation in-country will be indispensable – this requires horizontal cooperation among key line Ministries and agencies (Energy, Transport, Urban Development, Tourism, and Industry) and other key national level stakeholders) and vertical cooperation and partnership between national and city governments (e.g., through urban mobility in national development plans or strategies). Institutional coordination is key to realize integrated land- 27

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING use and transport planning and the development of transport services. Without the active sharing of geographical, social services, employment and land-use information transportation services cannot fully realise their potential to serve communities.

115. These inter-linkages would justify that the EST Forum in its future sessions continue to discuss sustainable transport in a manner that combines the main focus of the EST Forum: environmental sustainability with the broader discussion on social and economic issues.

116. Likewise, the 10th EST Forum also resulted in consensus that an effective 2030 Roadmap for Sustainable Transport-aligned with the SDGs will benefit from discussing transport in future Forums in a manner that combines cities, the main focus of the EST Forum, with a wider discussion that includes rural transport and rural – urban linkages, as well as national transport systems.

117. A comprehensive 2030 Roadmap will need to be balanced between passenger and freight transport taking into account both urban and rural areas. Not withstanding the efforts of the Regional EST Forum to raise the profile of freight transport in the deliberations of the Forum there is a need to further increase coverage of freight transport. The Forum welcomed in this respect the plans of UNCTAD to undertake more activities on sustainable freight policy and Forum members indicated willingness to engage in such activities. Effective action on freight transport will have to include a more pronounced emphasis of the key role that the private sector plays in supply chain innovation and efficiency improvements.

118. The discussions in support of the ‘Vientiane Declaration on Sustainable Rural Transport towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ illustrated the need to scale up action on rural transport. Of special concern is the funding of rural transport, which at present is not in line with the need for developing new transport infrastructure and services as well as their maintenance and functioning. It was suggested that the development of alternative funding sources, e.g. tourism, agri- business, cottage industries (one-village-one-product) based revenue should be actively considered as part of diversifying funding sources to support rural transport. In addition to the need for diversified funding support, successful implementation of sustainable rural transport also requires an innovative and whole -life based policy framework that promotes the connection of rural communities to wider transport network, establishes institutions and defines their responsibilities, both for the planning and implementation of new rural transport infrastructure and services as well as better asset management.

119. The Forum noted the success of PMGSY (Prime Minister’s Rural Roads Programme) of India. Other Forum member countries could follow this approach, in full or in part, to mobilize public, private, and international funding for rural roads program with the aim to achieve poverty alleviation and wider- economic integration and interaction between rural and urban areas.

120. As part of the efforts to strengthen sustainability of transport infrastructure and systems in Asia it will be important to translate global targets on road safety into regional and national targets, supported by programs that promote the safe-system approach called for in the Decade of Action for Road Safety. This is more likely to happen if countries understand the true economic costs and impacts of road crashes.

121. A 2030 Roadmap should be applicable to all member countries of the Forum and based on this an effective Roadmap should include all major modes of transport. Based on this it was recommended to

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING give greater emphasis to the role that motorcycles play in Asia. Although, obviously much smaller in scale, water-based transport is the main mode of transport in some of the member countries, or in parts of some of the member countries. Likewise, some of the EST member countries are land-locked and this presents these countries with special challenges in achieving sustainable transport. Participants in the Forum requested to ensure that the program of future Forum meetings reflect these special circumstances.

122. The Forum concluded that many countries have reached, or are close to reaching, the point of rapid large-scale deployment of environmentally sustainable transport systems. This positions the transport sector well for a successful and ambitious 2030 Roadmap on Sustainable Transport. Participants noted that the transformation of the transport sector that should follow as part of the implementation of the 2030 Roadmap on sustainable transport would need to include changes in the structure of the transport sector and not just a strengthening of the existing transport system. For example, the need for a large- scale shift from road to rail for freight transport was mentioned, in addition to a slowdown or reverse in the use of private motorised four-wheel or two-wheel vehicles in favor of public transport or more walking and cycling.

123. As EST member countries embark on the development and implementation of a 2030 Roadmap for Sustainable Transport and linked to that scaling-up of sustainable transport they will need to overcome barriers with respect to capacity, institutional coordination, technology and financing. Some of these barriers can be overcome at the national level and several EST Forum members indicated willingness to take active action. However, in the case of several EST Forum member countries there is a continued dependence on external assistance and regional and global organization associated with the EST Forum are requested to support countries in the development and implementation of the 2030 Roadmap on Sustainable Transport. Such assistance can be for specific parts or components of the 2030 Roadmap or for the overall process of developing the 2030 Roadmap.

124. To ensure that social sustainability is a key element of a 2030 Roadmap on Sustainable Transport, participants of the EST Forum agreed that better linkages are needed, at the regional, national and local level with relevant processes set up in support of the different global agreements. For example, there are various mechanisms and meetings on road safety that are very much relevant for the discussion on environmentally sustainable transport. At present not enough effort is made to link up with such processes. Better integration of social equity issues will be helped through better skills and knowledge of planners and decision-makers at both the national and the local level. This is key to ensure that social issues and equity are integrated into planning decisions not as a “special case” but as normal planning process.

125. The environmental sustainability of the EST Forum can be enhanced by a better linkage with the process of developing Nationally Determined Contributions in the context of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

126. Much progress has been made over the last years in reporting on the implementation of the Bangkok 2020 Declaration (2010-2020). Further progress can be achieved if countries would develop – or strengthen, where it exists already – an institutional mechanism that links reporting on the Bangkok 2020 Declaration with the reporting on the different global agreements. At the regional level, UNCRD was requested to consider the development of a central database that includes information of the country reports presented in recent years. This is important in better demonstrating the strong progress

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING made by EST Forum member countries in implementing the Bangkok 2020 Declaration and realising environmentally sustainable transport. Such an impact database will also help in improving consistency and continuity of country reporting by EST member countries.

127. The Forum welcomed information on the emerging Sustainable Mobility for All Initiative that aims to bring the transport community together around a common narrative on sustainable mobility and which would also include a global tracking framework to measure progress in the implementation of recent global agreements on sustainable development and climate change in the transport sector. Participants agreed that the Regional EST Forum in its future activities could play a role in the Asia based activities of SUM4ALL by bringing out the regional specificities.

128. With only three more years until the end of the implementation period of the Bangkok 2020 Declaration, members of the EST Forum agreed that it is important to begin consultation on possible follow-up agreement to the current Declaration.

129. There has been important progress in advancing the global and regional policy agenda on environmentally sustainable transport in Asia, and happily, this progress is increasingly reflected in national and sub-national policies in member countries of the Regional EST Forum. The continued need to improve access and sustainability of transport in Asia merits a detailed discussion over the next years to extend the Regional EST Forum beyond 2020 and also a discussion on an overarching framework similar to the Bangkok 2020 Declaration. By conducting this discussion, it will be important to build on the strengths of the Bangkok 2020 Declaration and address its shortcomings, while taking account of the positive changes in policy environment that have taken place in recent years.

130. Developing ideas and recommendations on a follow-up for the Bangkok 2020 Declaration should be done in a participatory and inclusive manner. To ensure that countries, which are the principle owners of the Regional EST Forum, are fully engaged and informed, it is proposed to set up a small ad-hoc taskforce that would consist of a maximum of seven members: five country representatives of EST Forum member countries (this should be geographically balanced, and ideally this would be persons who have been involved in at least three of the past Regional EST Forums and who would be available for a two- or three-year period); one representative from UN-ESCAP as principal inter-governmental actor on transport in Asia-Pacific; and one representative from among the (non-governmental) international experts in the EST Forum.

131. The ad-hoc task force, which could be set up in the coming months is requested to initiate discussions and provide a progress report at the 11th EST Forum. It is suggested that the ad-hoc task force considers amongst others the following questions in its deliberations:

a. The orientation of the EST Forum. When the EST Forum was established, it was agreed that this would be a forum with an emphasis on environmentally sustainable transport. However, over the years there has been, often at the request of the EST Forum members, a scope expansion to national transport systems and more lately also to rural transport, addressing whole range of issues involved in sustainable transport. Environment being one of the three pillars of sustainable development, it could be considered for the current Forum to evolve into a Regional Sustainable Transport Forum in Asia, without losing the focus on environmental and climate considerations in the transport sector.

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING

b. Further integration of sub-national entities in the EST Forum. The urban focus of the EST Forum has resulted in creating a linked, but to some extent, separate process of declarations and statements as well as sessions in the EST Forum events for city mayors. As Asia continues to urbanize, there will be a growing need to take action on sustainable transport at the urban level.

c. Positioning vis-à-vis global agreements on sustainable development and climate change. Any future framework or declaration should be consistent with ambition levels agreed upon in relevant global agreements.

d. Coordination with and complementarity to other intergovernmental processes on sustainable transport. At the time of the drafting of the Bangkok 2020 Declaration, the EST Forum was the only process engaging governments in a dedicated policy dialogue and process on sustainable transport. This is no longer the case. ASEAN and ESCAP are examples of intergovernmental processes that are increasingly integrating sustainable transport in their discussions on sustainable development.

e. “Nesting” of the Asia Regional EST Forum into the global SuM4All initiative. The Asian EST Forum through its unique composition is well placed to play a key role in the regionalization of the global SuM4All initiative that is currently under development.

f. Shifting the emphasis towards implementation. Overall, there is a shift in the global sustainable transport community from advocating the adoption of sustainable transport-related goals and policies to the effective and scaled-up implementation of such goals and policies.

g. Role of non-governmental actors in the EST Forum and their support for implementation of successor to the Bangkok 2020 Declaration. The EST Forum has been successful because of its clear focus on governments as the main “owners” of the EST Forum and their primacy in the proceedings of the EST Forum, including the discussions on the Bangkok 2020 Declaration. It is increasingly clear that realising sustainable transport is beyond the capacity of national governments alone, or for that matter the capacity of local governments. There is also a greater involvement of the private sector which will be required in the future in addition to the development community, which traditionally has already been acknowledged as a partner for action on sustainable transport.

h. Continuation, and possible broadening of donor support for the EST Forum and successor of the Bangkok Declaration for 2020. The EST Forum has been able to prosper in large part because of the long-term support from the Ministry of the Environment in Japan. Any successor agreement to the Bangkok Declaration for 2020 will need to have a similar level of committed long-term support. In line with the comments above on the need to broaden the topical scope of the EST Forum, it could be argued that it is important to broaden the funding base of the EST Forum.

132. The current Bangkok Declaration will come to an end in 2020. A 10-year declaration has worked well in the case of the Bangkok 2020 Declaration (2010-2020). It is suggested that the follow-up agreement to Bangkok 2020 Declaration be another 10-year framework agreement that is closely aligned with the global agendas and agreements embracing all three pillars of sustainable development – environmental, social, and economic. The ad-hoc Task Force is requested to consider the phasing of the discussions on

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING a follow-up to the Bangkok 2020 Declaration with the aim to adopt a possible follow-up Declaration (2020-2030) during the 13th EST Forum in 2020.

XVI. Closing Session

133. Chikako Takase, Director of UNCRD, expressed her deep appreciation to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) of Lao People’s Democratic Republic for successfully hosting the Tenth Regional EST Forum in Asia. She also appreciated the leadership of the Minister of the Public Works and Transport of Lao PDR, H.E. Dr. Bounchanh Sinthavong, for the successful adoption of the Vientiane Declaration on Sustainable Rural Transport towards Achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. She further expressed sincere gratitude to the Ministry of the Environment of Japan for its continued and generous support for the organization of the Regional EST Forum in Asia on a regular basis. She thanked all the participating Mayors and cities for joining the Vientiane International Mayors’ Forum as well as signing the Kyoto Declaration and the Addendum for the Promotion of EST towards Realizing Resilient, Smart and Liveable Cities in Asia. She thanked all the co-organizers and supporting organizations. She further expressed her sincere appreciation to all the national and local government representatives, resource persons, Experts Members of the Regional EST Forum in Asia, and representatives of the international organizations, for their active participation and contributions. Finally, she expressed deep appreciation to the Government of Mongolia for hosting the Eleventh Regional EST Forum in Asia in 2018.

134. The representative of UN ESCAP, Madan B. Regmi, in his closing statement congratulated all participants on the successful conclusion of the EST Forum and adoption of the Vientiane Declaration on Sustainable Rural transport towards Achieving the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development. He urged all stakeholders for its implementation, and further hoped there would be national level discussions for the implementation of important conclusions and recommendations of the EST Forum. He indicated that UN ESCAP would continue to promote sustainable and inclusive transport policies and extend required support to the member countries in implementing the recommendations. He was further pleased to see an increased level of participation in the Forum with the presence of Central Asian Republics, and assured to continue collaboration and establish partnership with UNCRD in organizing the future EST Forums.

135. Jong Soo Yoon, Head of Office the United Nations Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD) congratulated all the participants for their hard work leading to the successful completion of the Tenth Regional EST Forum in Asia. He expressed his deep appreciation to the host Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and all the partners for the successful organization of the Forum. He mentioned that sustainable transport is of particular relevance to Asia ― one of the fastest growing region of the world, where sixty per cent of the global population resides. Sustainable transport has an important role to play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It is well known fact that the vast majority of developing countries, women and children are amongst the most affected by the lack of access to resources and “essentials of life” such as energy, shelter, water and sanitation, food, health and mobility. We must make sure that citizens are at the centre of our transport systems and services, and that the poorest, most marginalized and vulnerable segments of our societies have access to sustainable transport. He believed that the Mayors and leaders of local governments benefited from the discussions during the EST Forum, and that the Vientiane International Mayors Forum allowed them to share their experience and vision on local actions that could help make their cities more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING 136. Delivering the final closing remarks, H.E. Dr. Bounchanh Sinthavong, Minister of Public Works and Transport, Lao PDR, expressed his appreciation to the strong leadership of UNCRD in successfully convening the Regional EST Forum in Asia. The continuous participation of Lao PDR in the EST Forums has greatly benefitted the country in learning new ideas and best practices in the areas of sustainable transport. He recognized the participation of national and city government representatives from thirty-eight countries. The successful adoption of the “Vientiane Declaration on Sustainable Rural Transport towards Achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, has created another milestone in the history of the Regional EST Forum in Asia. While accessibility and connectivity is a big problem in Asia, he hoped the Vientiane Declaration would provide a meaningful framework for countries to develop required policies, programs, including financial mechanisms, to support the development of rural transport. The Vientiane Declaration is an important follow up by the Asian countries in response to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. He expressed his deep satisfaction that 29 Mayors and city authorities and representatives from Asia and African region signed the “Kyoto Declaration and its Addendum on the Promotion of EST towards Realizing Resilient, Smart and Liveable Cities in Asia”. This is a remarkable demonstration of commitments of cities towards SDG No. 11, which calls for making cities and human settlements safe, resilient, inclusive and sustainable. He further recognized that the Regional EST Forum in Asia has emerged as an important regional platform to discuss policy issues in both urban and rural transport sector. Lao PDR will continue to contribute to the success of the EST Forum. He finally thanked all international organizations, partners and appreciated the hard work of his own Ministry staffs as well as of the Drafting Committee Members for Chair’s Summary for making the Tenth EST Forum a grand success.

137. On behalf of the Government of Mongolia, Mr. Magnaisuren Sandag, Secretary of State Ministry of Construction and Urban Development, Mongolia and Mr. Gotov Dugerjav, Advisor to Minister, Ministry of Road and Transport Development, Mongolia officially announced Mongolia’s intention to host the 11th Regional EST Forum in Asia in 2018.

XVII. Technical Field Trip

138. A technical field trip was conducted to visit historical sites and observe land use and transport planning of Vientiane City. The participants of the EST Forum visited two sites, namely That Luang Statupa (Pra That Luang) and Chao Anouvong Park.

Annex I: Kyoto Declaration for the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) and Addendum

Annex II: Vientiane Declaration on Sustainable Rural Transport towards Achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

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Annex I Addendum to Kyoto Declaration

For the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport ~ Towards Realizing Resilient, Smart and Liveable Cities in Asia

(Extended - 15 March 2017)

Subsequently, we, the city Mayors and local government representatives (Vientiane City, Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Luang Prabang City, Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Quezon City, the Philippines; Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Thailand; Bulawayo City, Zimbabwe; Cebu City, the Philippines; Colombo City, Sri Lanka; Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City, Nepal; Guwahati Municipal Corporation, India; Honiara City Council, Solomon Islands; Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, Pakistan; Kathmandu Valley Development Authority, Nepal; Suwon City, Republic of Korea; Kuching South City, Malaysia; Lilongwe City Council, Malawi; Male City Council, Maldives; Mandalay City Development Committee, Myanmar; Matale Municipal Council, Sri Lanka; Nakhon Ratchasima City, Thailand; Port Villa City, Vanuatu; Seberang Perai Municipal Council, Malaysia; Surabaya City, Indonesia; Surakarta City, Indonesia; Tangerang City, Indonesia; Ulaanbaatar City, Mongolia; Victoria City, Seychelles; Yan’an Municipal People’s Government, People’s Republic of China; Yogyakarta City, Indonesia; Zhanjiang Municipal Government, People’s Republic of China), having met at the special ceremony for signing of Kyoto Declaration for the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport ~ Towards Realizing Resilient, Smart and Liveable Cities in Asia at the Tenth Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Forum in Asia, 14-16 March 2017, Vientiane, Lao PDR, unanimously endorse and sign the Kyoto Declaration and its Addendum.

Reaffirming and building upon the voluntary actions of participating member countries of the Regional EST Forum in Asia to achieve the twenty sustainable transport goals under the integrated Avoid-Shift-Improve strategy of the Bangkok 2020 Declaration (2010-2020) agreed upon at the Fifth Regional EST Forum in Asia (2010),

Recalling that the Rio+20 Outcome Document - The Future We Want, which recognized that transport and mobility are centre to sustainable development, and which called for the efficient movement of people and goods, and access to environmentally sound, safe and affordable transportation as a means to improve social equity, health, resilience of cities, urban-rural connectivity and productivity of rural areas,

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING Noting the Bali Declaration on Vision Three Zeros‐Zero Congestion, Zero Pollution, and Zero Accidents towards Next Generation Transport Systems in Asia adopted at the Seventh Regional EST Forum in Asia and Global Consultation on Sustainable Transport in the Post‐2015 Development Agenda (2013),

Noting the priority given by UN Secretary-General to sustainable transport including the establishment of a Secretary-General High Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport as well as including ‘transportation’ as a separate action area in his September 2014 Climate Summit,

Noting the role of sustainable transport in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including dedicated urban transport related targets under SDG 11 – Make Cities and Human Settlements Inclusive, Safe, Resilient and Sustainable, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly at the UN Sustainable Development Summit held in New York from 25 to 27 September 2015,

Acknowledging the important role of Asian cities and local governments will play, given the unprecedented level of urbanization likely to happen worldwide, largely driven by Asia, over the next decades, in setting up and implementing a vision for sustainable cities, from the initiation of city planning and design through to revitalization of older cities and neighbourhoods, including developing most efficient modes of mass rapid transit (MRT) systems while maintaining and expanding the role of walking and cycling with prime importance to human safety and mobility,

Underscoring that inclusive, resilient and sustainable cities and human settlements as well as provision of access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all along with improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons, will be critically important areas for the international community to achieve under the post-2015 development agenda,

(1) Express our good-will intention to voluntarily develop, introduce, implement, and integrate more sustainable transport and urban planning policies, programmes and projects, including PPP (public- private-partnerships) funding next generation public transport, walking, cycling, and clean freight infrastructure developments, towards realizing resilient, smart and liveable cities,

(2) Adopt effective policies, regulations, and enforcement mechanisms to minimize fatalities and serious injuries due to road crashes and to curb health-impairing air pollution, with specific attention to health impacts of small suspended particulate matters (PM10/PM2.5) and smoke and to mitigation of other global warming pollutants,

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING (3) Progressively introduce and implement transport policies and programmes, which will emphasize more climate and disaster resilient transport infrastructures and services to have long term benefits for the society, and

(4) Make efforts to support and take part in regional or global initiatives to promote sustainable transport, technical cooperation, technology transfer at affordable cost, and acknowledge the important role of the Regional EST Forum in Asia to facilitate their engagement with such regional or global initiatives.

(5) We request international organizations and donors to realign their programmes in the spirit of EST.

Addendum to Kyoto Declaration

For the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport ~ Towards Realizing Resilient, Smart and Liveable Cities in Asia

(Extended – 16 January 2015)

Subsequently six Asian cities (Bandung, Kuching South, Nagoya, Sumita-cho, Toyota, and Yangzhou) having met in the Special Ceremony for signing of Kyoto Declaration on the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport in Cities during the High-level Symposium on Sustainable Cities: Connecting People, Environment and Technology, Co-convened by the United Nations and Toyota City, in Toyota, Japan on 16 January 2015, unanimously endorsed and signed the Kyoto Declaration and its Addendum.

Addendum to Kyoto Declaration For the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport ~ Towards Realizing Resilient, Smart and Liveable Cities in Asia

(Extended - 20 November 2014)

We, the city Mayors and local government representatives (Dhaka North, Shanghai, Navi Mumbai, Tangerang, Yogyakarta, Vientiane, Ulaanbaatar, Kathmandu, Karachi, Baguio, Cebu, Singapore, Colombo, Matale, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Kyoto), having met at the Special Event of Asian Mayors of the Eighth Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Forum in Asia, held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 19 to 21 November 2014, unanimously endorse and sign the addendum to the existing Kyoto Declaration (2007), in order to demonstrate our continued interest in, and reinforce our resolve and commitment to the promotion and implementation of Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) in Asia,

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING Reaffirming and building upon the voluntary actions of participating member countries of the Regional EST Forum in Asia to achieve the twenty sustainable transport goals under the integrated Avoid-Shift-Improve strategy of the Bangkok 2020 Declaration (2010-2020) agreed upon at the Fifth Regional EST Forum in Asia (2010),

Noting the role of sustainable transport in the Sustainable Development Goals, including a dedicated urban transport target under the proposed Sustainable Urban Development Goal, recommended by the Open Working Group (OWG) for adoption to the United Nations General Assembly,

Noting the Bali Declaration on Vision Three Zeros‐Zero Congestion, Zero Pollution, and Zero Accidents towards Next Generation Transport Systems in Asia adopted at the Seventh Regional EST Forum in Asia and Global Consultation on Sustainable Transport in the Post‐2015 Development Agenda (2013),

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING (1) Express our good-will intention to voluntarily develop, introduce, implement, and integrate more sustainable transport and urban planning policies, programmes and projects, including PPP (public- private-partnerships) funding next generation public transport, walking, cycling, and clean freight infrastructure developments, towards realizing resilient, smart and liveable cities,

(3) Progressively introduce and implement transport policies and programmes, which will emphasize more climate and disaster resilient transport infrastructures and services to have long term benefits for the society, and

(5) We request international organizations and donors to realign their programmes in the spirit of EST.

Addendum to Kyoto Declaration

For the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport ~ Towards Realizing Resilient, Smart and Liveable Cities in Asia

(Extended – 16 March 2010)

Subsequently ten Asian cities (Ahmedabad, Banjarmasin, Chiang Mai, Chuncheon, Donghae, Islamabad, Kandy, Penang, Surakarta, and Tangerang) having met in the Special Event of Asian Mayors on the signing of the Kyoto Declaration for the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport in Cities during the United Nations Forum on Climate Change Mitigation, Fuel Efficiency and Sustainable Development of Urban Transport in Seoul, Republic of Korea on 16 March, 2010, unanimously endorsed and signed the Kyoto Declaration for the promotion of environmentally sustainable transport (EST) in Asia.

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING Addendum to Kyoto Declaration

For the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport ~ Towards Realizing Resilient, Smart and Liveable Cities in Asia

(Extended – 12 November 2008)

Subsequently ten Asian cities (Baguio, Bangkok, Batam, Cebu, Colombo, Guwahati, Karachi, Kathmandu, Makassar, Makati, Palembang, and Surat) having met in the Special Event of Asian Mayors on Environmentally Sustainable Transport during Better Air Quality (BAQ) 2008 Workshop in Bangkok, Thailand on 12 November 2008, unanimously endorsed and signed the Kyoto Declaration for the promotion of environmentally sustainable transport (EST) in Asia.

Kyoto Declaration

For the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport ~ Towards Realizing Resilient, Smart and Liveable Cities in Asia

(24 April 2007)

We, the Mayors and governmental representatives of Asian cities, having met in Kyoto, Japan on 23-24 April 2007 at the Asian Mayors’ Policy Dialogue for Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) in Cities, to discuss and address key policy issues on environment and transport from city perspectives under the overall framework of the Regional EST Forum,

Recognizing that cities in the region are faced with a number of critical environment and transport related issues, their implications for human health, economic well-being, and social equity, and the emerging need to define and implement clear goals at the city level in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) adopted at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD),

Reaffirming and building upon the Aichi Statement agreed upon at the First Meeting of the Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport Forum in Asia, held in Nagoya, Japan, from 1-2 August 2005,

Noting the objectives of the Regional EST Forum, an initiative of the United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD) in cooperation with Asian countries, which is comprised of high-level government representatives and experts in various thematic areas related to EST, and which provides a strategic and knowledge platform for sharing experiences and disseminating best practices, policy instruments, tools, and technologies,

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING Emphasizing that the Regional EST Forum has identified in the Aichi Statement the need for both national and local governments to develop and adopt integrated policies, strategies, and programmes incorporating key elements of environmentally sustainable transport,

Realizing the importance of strengthening regional cooperation for sustainable cities through the framework of the ASEAN Working Group on Environmentally Sustainable Cities (AWGESC) and other initiatives, such as the International Council for Local Environment Initiatives (ICLEI) and the Kitakyushu Initiative for a Clean Environment,

Acknowledging the important role that Mayors could play in implementing local-level actions to make cities healthy, green, and environment- and people-friendly in cooperation with key stakeholders, and also addressing local issues which have regional and global implications, such as climate change,

Recognizing the importance of achieving greater synergy between local actions and national strategies and programmes to realize EST,

We, the Mayors, thus hereby declare our intention to:

1. resolve to demonstrate leadership and ownership in promoting EST and setting the vision in Asian cities in motion in close collaboration with the national government, the private sector, civil society, and regional and international communities,

2. commit to implementing integrated policies, strategies, and programmes addressing key elements of EST such as public health; land-use planning; environment- and people-friendly urban transport infrastructure; public transport planning and transport demand management (TDM); non-motorized transport (NMT); social equity and gender perspectives; road safety and maintenance; strengthening road side air quality monitoring and assessment; traffic noise management; reduction of pollutants and greenhouse gas emission; and strengthening the knowledge base, awareness, and public participation,

3. dedicate ourselves to specifically addressing priorities that are often under-emphasized but are nevertheless vital and central to EST, such as the provision of exclusive pedestrian and bicycle lanes, and ensuring safe and comfortable movement of women, children, the elderly, and the physically impaired,

4. dedicate ourselves to specifically address the adverse impact of the growing number of motorcycles in most Asian cities,

5. ensure sustainable financing and equitable pricing structures for implementing EST,

6. resolve to actively collaborate and cooperate through the Regional EST Forum in order to share information and promote the incorporation of EST elements in city master plans and programmes, 40

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7. urge the international and donor community to acknowledge the importance of city-based actions and programmes concerning EST, and strongly appeal to them to actively support the implementation of these actions and programmes by providing financial assistance, and facilitating technology transfer and capacity-building through pilot and demonstration projects,

8. call for city-to-city cooperation to address issues of common concern and to bridge knowledge, policy, and technology gaps in the environment and transport sector, and

9. explore possible opportunities for organizing similar policy dialogues on a regular basis in collaboration with the international and donor community.

We are thus convinced that the concerted efforts of national governments, city authorities, the private sector, civil society, and the donor and international community will contribute to a more profound vision of EST for Asian cities in the 21st century.

We express our sincere appreciation to the organizers, experts, and participants for contributing their ideas, opinions, and experiences which will greatly help us in achieving this milestone.

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING Annex II

Vientiane Declaration2 on Sustainable Rural Transport towards Achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Preamble

Rural transport is a key driver for improving rural wellbeing, economic development, community empowerment as well as livelihood - and food security. Due to inadequate basic rural transport infrastructure and services, many developing countries of Asia confront a number of socio-economic and development challenges. Poverty, under nutrition, lack of access to agricultural markets, basic utilities and services (e.g. drinking water, energy, education and employment opportunities, health care facilities, and recreation sites) remain formidable challenges in the development of most of the rural areas in Asia. Additionally, environmental problems arising from vehicular emissions, lack of proper vehicle inspection and maintenance, fuel adulteration significantly affect rural inhabitants and ecosystems.

Improved rural transport infrastructure and services are a key enabler to increased rural resiliency, rural empowerment and rural socio-economic transformation through poverty eradication, hunger elimination, social integration, increased food security and improved supply chain logistics. Thus, it is of paramount importance for developing countries to improve and maintain their rural transport infrastructure and services, to ensure better accessibility for low-income communities, farmers, women, youth and other vulnerable groups, and to ensure that “no one is left behind,” as urged by the recently-adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As most agricultural production takes place in rural areas, improved access to both local markets and urban areas can make a significant contribution towards improving economy and livelihood security of farming communities.

Due to increasing frequency and magnitude of natural and climate-driven disasters (e.g. windstorms, floods, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides, avalanches and droughts), rural transport systems require strategic investment and design to help increase resilience of rural communities. Climate adaptive and disaster resilient transport investments in rural areas can help secure all-season access to markets and essential services and prevent isolation of fragile or remote communities, thus contributing to economic development and well-being.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 related targets at its core, represents a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity, and reflects national commitments to put the world on a more sustainable and resilient path. Through the adoption of this Agenda, member states have acknowledged the vital role of sustainable transport in achieving the SDGs. Essential steps realizing the SDGs for the rural sector include developing and maintaining resilient rural transport infrastructure (e.g. footpaths, tracks, trails, farm and feeder roads, railroads, waterways, bridges and drainage systems), expanding rural transport service networks to promote education and health in isolated areas, and improving rural transport access to provide enabling environments for trade and commerce.

2 Vientiane Declaration is a good-will, voluntary and legally non-binding declaration. 42

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING Declaration

We, the participants, who are representatives of member countries of the Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Forum in Asia (i.e. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russian Federation, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam), observer countries (Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Peru, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Zimbabwe), international organizations, bilateral and multilateral agencies, civil society organizations, the scientific and academic community, the private sector, sustainable transport professionals, and other stakeholders having met at the Tenth Regional EST Forum in Asia, held in Vientiane, Lao PDR, from 14 to 16 March 2017, unanimously adopt the “Vientiane Declaration on Sustainable Rural Transport towards Achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”,

Reaffirming the voluntary actions of participating member countries of the Regional EST Forum in Asia to achieve the twenty sustainable transport goals under the Bangkok 2020 Declaration (2010-2020) agreed upon at the Fifth Regional EST Forum in Asia (2010),

Acknowledging the Bali Declaration on Vision Three Zeros‐Zero Congestion, Zero Pollution, and Zero Accidents towards Next Generation Transport Systems in Asia adopted at the Seventh Regional EST Forum in Asia and Global Consultation on Sustainable Transport in the Post-2015 Development Agenda (2013),

Noting the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Ethiopia in 2015 and the Istanbul Declaration and Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020, which highlight the need to build safe, resilient and sustainable infrastructure and services in developing and least developed countries as a priority area of action,

Reaffirming the significance of sustainable rural transport and multiple benefits of rural access in the effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and related targets set by the United Nations and international community,

Noting the outcome of the Global Sustainable Transport Conference held on 26-27 November 2016 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan,

Noting also the outcome of the UNESCAP Ministerial Conference on Transport held on 5-9 December 2016 in Moscow, Russian Federation, that adopted the Regional Action Programme on Sustainable Transport Connectivity, Phase I (2017-2021) including achieving greater rural connectivity as one of the core themes,

Taking into account that currently about 47% of the population in Asia lives in rural areas and that rural poverty is a major barrier to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing countries,

Considering that rural areas are the growth engine of agricultural products and that inadequate basic rural transport infrastructure and services increases the cost of transport, limits access to local markets for agricultural products, and reduces productivity, employment and business opportunities,

Recognizing the efforts of many of the countries in the region that have resulted in substantive improvements in rural transport infrastructure and services, but acknowledging that much more needs to be done including greater use of the various options for financing rural connectivity,

Noting that food waste because of inadequate rural transport infrastructure and services continues to threaten food security in the region,

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING Noting that it would be important to take into due consideration of the environment, such as implementation of environmental impact assessment while building transport infrastructure, in order to conserve natural environment, ecosystem and prevent all forms of pollution in rural areas,

Underscoring the fact that Asia is one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to the impacts of climate change and natural disasters, improved rural transport and accessibility will have significant positive impacts prior to, during, and after extreme weather events and other disasters, including more efficient evacuation, relief mobilization and relocation and rehabilitation,

Recognizing that rural transport is a key enabler for social equity, human resource development, local economic growth and employment generation, efficiency and productivity in rural areas, and improvement of the quality of life of the rural poor, farmers, girls and women, youth, the elderly and other vulnerable populations, and

Underscoring that efficient rural-urban connectivity plays a crucial role in the generation of income, employment and wealth and urban food security, yet is often not adequately addressed in national economic and trade policies,

1. Express our commitment to promote inclusive, affordable, accessible and sustainable rural transport infrastructure and services, thus facilitating improved access to basic utilities and services including health and education by the rural poor, farmers, agricultural workers, girls and women, youth, and differently abled and vulnerable groups;

2. Recognize that rural access does not only comprise investments in new roads, but as well adequate maintenance of existing infrastructure, including the provision of sufficient funding through government and donors for necessary road works;

3. Recognize that sustainable rural transport should be integrated within the rural landscape planning, and healthy ecosystems around transport system contribute significantly to sustainability and resilience of transport system;

4. Express our commitment to explore climate adaptive road and infrastructure investments in rural areas to enhance resilience of local communities as well as to secure all-season access to essential utilities and services;

5. Express our commitment to promote environmentally sustainable transport in rural areas by introducing low-carbon transport system and avoiding road development without environmental consideration;

6. Express our commitment towards transport-linked development, which is local resource based, environment friendly and participatory, as the way of integrated rural transport development;

7. Express our commitment to promote efficient rural access, rural-urban connectivity and sustainable freight movement with an objective to achieve rural livelihood security, rural resilience, rural empowerment and productivity, and sustainable rural and regional development in support of successful implementation of the SDGs;

8. Express our commitment to assign due priority to rural transport projects and initiate the development of national strategies and policy frameworks to improve rural transport connectivity to wider local, national and regional transport networks;

9. Express our commitment to improve transport safety, sustainability and efficiency in rural areas through better coordination of relevant stakeholders, legal frameworks, and enforcement of safety and environmental regulations, including mandatory vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M), driver and mechanic training, monitoring of fuel quality against adulteration, and inclusive planning and management techniques;

ISSUED WITHOUT FORMAL EDITING 10. Express our commitment to undertake Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in all rural transport infrastructures, including road networks, and consider the environmental and social impact of the technologies used;

11. Utilize the outputs of research for innovative methodologies to provide more sustainable and appropriately-engineered rural connectivity that provides value-for-money and incorporates local resources and materials; and

12. Call for the widest possible national, regional and international cooperation and support for reviewing progress, institutional capacity-building, knowledge sharing, technology transfer, and research and development for innovative solutions to improve rural-urban connectivity; to improve and green supply chain logistics (from producers to consumers); and to minimize local and transboundary pollution, address illegal, transboundary movement of hazardous waste, as well as mitigate, and adapt to climate change.